Shi no Kirei
by Mikazuki Tsuki
Summary: “If I can’t have her, then no one can. In her box she will stay, just waiting for me to reclaim her.” SessKag
1. Chapter 1

A.N Another new story... when I'm gloomy I write a lot to lose myself in fiction and this is my newest idea.

Disclaimer: Not my anime, my plot.

Summary: "If I can't have her, then no one can. In her box she will stay, just waiting for me to reclaim her." Sess/Kag

Shi no Kirei

Chapter One -

_Furyo Kirei_

With a scream, she pounded against the wall. She was entering her fifth century in this hell hole.

But hadn't she been punished enough?

Why wouldn't Naraku let her go?

A raven haired woman slid down the wall and onto her rear. Her mouth parted as if to say something but then snapped shut.

That was another thing that had been taken away from her, along with her freedom. Speech..

Her sorrow once again became as evident as her beauty. And she _was_ beautiful. A spectacle to observe, indeed. From her mystic blue eyes to her plum painted lips.

Her name was Kagome. Her last name was forgotten to her, but she knew her first name so clearly. It was as if it were implanted in her mind.

But her knowledge ceased pretty much there. Kagome knew that she had been learned. Very well learned, but her mind's knowledge with every second spent in her entrapment seemed to dwindle.

She worried the sleeves of her sleeved purple shirt. She was dressed in a mid-drift baring A neck top, and a similarly plum colored shirt. It flared at the bottom and reached her knees.

With every change in the outer world's culture, her garments would modify to them. But her graces pretty much ended there.

How could he let her suffer like this?

Tears threatened to fill her eyes. That Naraku...

She was imprisoned inside this...box. For basically all eternity for what she knew. All because of him.

No sounds escaped her mouth, as her body shook with rage, and a little bit of sorrow.

How disgraceful this was. One of the most powerful deities known to feudal Japan was imprisoned by a hanyou that had been infatuated with her. A human turned hanyou of all things too. It was so appalling.

She collapsed to the floor and began her pounding a new. The floor made a dull thudding noise as her fists hit it countless times. She took no note of it.

She had been reduced to behaving like a child...

Kagome's eyes suddenly blazed white and then there was sound.

She pounded one last time against the floor, "Free me!"

And the light became blinding, and the air shattered, and she bled.

(Tsuki)

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Papa, happy birthday to you!"

The message on the answering machine belted out the overused birthday song loudly, as one Sesshoumaru Takarishi paused to check his messages. He cringed; there was no lost talent with that girl when it came to singing.

He was dressed in a pair of black jeans that hugged his narrow waist snuggly, and a black polo that showcased the muscles on his arms.

There was giggling on the other end, "Happy 30th old man, from your loving Rin." There was a pause, "Seriously speaking though, I really wish I could be there, but you know..."

BEEP

"_Next new unread message:"_

"Ugh! Damn thing cut me off. Anyway, but with the pregnancy and everything," the girl's voice lowered to a conspiring whisper, "Moving around is a real bitch. Bye Sesshoumaru-papa! Have a good one! And don't forget my herbs!"

BEEP

Sesshoumaru frowned marring his handsome features.

"_End of new messages."_

"Apparently that girl learned nothing in lines of language." He walked on into the kitchen. Thirty.

Indeed, today was his birthday, but there was much doubt in his mind that this would be a happy one.

Sesshoumaru was a middle-class man. With short cropped black hair and golden hazel eyes, he was a definite looker. But looks alone did not get a person a seat at the right hand of a rich man.

He perused his fridge. It was a Saturday afternoon. He had overslept and now it was noon. Not that it mattered anyway... What was there to look forward to?

He threw two pieces of bread in the toaster before pouring himself a cup of orange juice.

Sesshoumaru lived in a small house. Three bedrooms, an attic and a bath and half and a basement. It was scarcely furnished, and the only pictures were of him and his adopted child.

Not that she could be called a child anymore. She could be rightly called a child when she had been twelve. Now... she was twenty two now, and married.

The hazel eyes man quickly polished off his toast when it popped up, after spreading a light coat of butter on it.

His juice followed, and Sesshoumaru was out the door. He reached his car in a matter of seconds, and unlocked the doors.

He wasn't even sure why he bothered to lock them, no one would want to go through the hassle of stealing his car.

If anything, his car could be called archaic.

It was _old_. Not to mention rather crappy.

But a new car was really not in his budget at the moment, so it would do for the time being.

After a moment of starting his car, he was off.

He had errands to run and people to see unfortunately. 'Fun, fun,' he thought to himself sarcastically.

It was not that he was some thirty year old man who hated life, and saw no point in it as a whole. No... wait. That all _was_ correct.

He _was_ a thirty year old man who hated life and did not see any point in it.

Please children, highlight that little fact.

Now, we may begin our story properly, and please... do pay attention. I don't wish to lose anyone.

---

Sesshoumaru entered a store in a particularly run down area of the city.

Rin had begged him to go there for some medicinal herbs to ease her nausea. Apparently the herbs sold worked miracles for the girl who was nearing her third trimester.

He parked his car in front of the store and got out, locking it once more out of habit. With a brisk pace, he was at the store door in a matter of moments. A faded sign in the window stated that the name was _Shi no Kirei_. He frowned in almost disapproval.

'Such a strange name...'

A chime sounded as he opened the door and walked in. The store was very dimly lit, by scented cinnamon candles. The strong scent mixed with lavender and lemon incenses well as other scents he wasn't all that interested in defining.

There were rows and rows of shelved covered in jars of herbs, sachets full of who knows what and little trinkets and pamphlets.

On the walls stood and hung ancient era weaponry.

They attracted his attention mildly.

He walked on to the back of the store where a counter was located. Behind which was a woman who completely blended in with scene.

She was a gnarled old thing who had seen much better years, with wrinkles and a sagging bosom; she was undoubtedly as aged as many of the things there.

An eye patch was strapped firmly across her face, and she was dressed in the strangest garbs. Traditional miko where if he guessed correctly.

Her eye seemed to appraising him as he walked up to the counter. "Hello... I am Kaede."

She smirked and seemingly in after thought added, "Happy Birthday..."

Sesshoumaru's gaze swept over her suspiciously, 'Hn. Rin must have mentioned something. She is after all a regular now.'

"Hardly could be considered _happy_."

She chuckled before continuing, "Ye are here for some herbs for yer daughter, am I correct?"

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes, and nodded.

She smiled, "Wait here." With that command, she went into the rows of shelving and a second later came back with a purple pouch and a small box the size of a folded standard sheet of paper.

Kaede returned to her previous spot. She put the pouch on the counter and slid it towards him, "Herbs for yer daughters pregnancy. Less than four months away is she not?"

The woman did not seem to mind the lack of conversation on Sesshoumaru's part.

Next she slid over the box, "And lastly, this box -on the house of course- as a little present for ye." Sesshoumaru frowned, "Does this Sesshoumaru look like a charity case?"

His voice came out crisply with irritation.

Kaede once again let out a deep laugh, "It is merely a gift, Sesshoumaru. I meant no offense."

He only frowned deeper, "Fine. Thanks," he said with very little gratitude, "I am hoping to leave this place today."

Kaede rang him up, "Five dollars for the herbs."

Sesshoumaru pulled out his wallet and after searching the folds, he pulled out the exact amount and handed it over.

Kaede placed it into a cash box, and wrote him out a receipt on a parchment like sheet of paper.

With a nod of good bye, Sesshoumaru left.

"_Enjoy yer gift, Sesshoumaru..." _

(Tsuki)

The box was a deep plum color, very quaint with embroidered kenji over the perimeter. It was small and seemingly insignificant.

Sesshoumaru had gone home and after putting the herbs away to take over to Rin later that day, sat down on his black fabric couch. His other trips were being put off for later that evening if favor of examining what the old woman from the shop had given her.

He examined the box. It didn't seem to be anything special. He turned it round to read the writing on it.

His velvet like voice streamed into the room as he read, "'Kagome Higurashi...the deity of beauty, cursed to imprisonment by Naraku—'"

Sesshoumaru scoffed, "Foolish fables..." but he read on still the rest that was in Latin. He was multilingual, but a tad rusty with dead languages like Latin. But the words just seemed to come to him. "'Love shall be your savior.'"

He snorted tossed the box into the far corner of the room, 'Apparently the gift was more trash to put in the attic.'

And with that he rose, to go get the pouch, deciding that he might as well finish his tasks.

The whole thing would have been forgotten, but there was suddenly a flash of white light coming from the direction of the case.

Sesshoumaru had to shield his eyes, as the light became brighter, and brighter, and brighter...

And then the light was gone.

But in place of the blinding light was a woman, unconscious and injured.

Sesshoumaru lifted a brow in surprise, as he moved closer to the couch.

"What the hell...?"

He was snapped out of his shock when he noticed the blood that was pouring out of her wounds.

She was still breathing but barely.

Just what exactly was going on here? What did that old hag do exactly?

He placed her down gently, and looked her over. She seemed to only be injured on the exposed portions of her body- her legs and arms and her exposed stomach mostly. She had a few scratches on her face, but they paled in comparison to the gashes on the rest of her body.

He moved to the kitchen his pace not slow, nor was it fast. It was the pace you took when you had half dead woman on your couch and really did not know if it were some twisted joke or something of the sort.

Sesshoumaru reached for the first aid kit that was located in one of the cabinets. After grabbing that, he took a bowl and filled it with water. He returned back to the living room, only to find the occupant of the couch struggling to sit up.

As soon as she saw him, she smiled, "Thank you..."

With that, she passed out again.

Sesshoumaru sighed but sat down and began cleaning her wounds.

For now he'd wait for some answers.

(Tsuki)

Newest addition to my collection of stories. Title Death of Beauty, chapter Boxed Beauty.

R&**R**


	2. Chapter 2

A.N. Hey everyone... The title means Death of Beauty. I thought that was something striking and everything completely fell into pieces from the title. Secondly, yes, Sesshoumaru is supposed to have black hair. This is total AU and I'm taking full advantage of that.

And all fluff aside I want to truthfully say that I haven't been doing too well- that's why this is late. My bird died sometime recently and it just shattered my heart and the passed few months kinda sucked.

-----Shi no Kirei

...Chapter Two

Kagome awoke to see a man sitting over her simply staring at her, his eyes contemplating, but guarded. HE was anything but familiar... She shrieked, "Who...?" She convulsed from sharp pains that shot through her spine. A deep and swirling feeling nausea implanted itself firmly in her stomach.

She groaned and dug her head into the couch as if to escape the pain. "Ah...!" The man's hand moved over the bare skin on her arms to hold her still.

His warm skin was so comforting...

A wet towel was draped over her forehead. Whimpering a bit, she calmed down slightly. Sesshoumaru frowned, his hazel eyes piercing into hers when they opened a bit to look at this stranger.

"If any questions are going to be asked, it will be by me when you are capable of answering." His voice was firm, and cold. So unlike the mocking, malicious, cajoling voice of the tormentor that she knew was responsible for her pain.

Kagome nodded her head slightly despite the new feeling of nausea it brought, not fully understanding him, but feeling as if some answer was expected. Her eyes shut close, as she tried to sit up. Her head felt as if it was being ripped in two. Her mind was a blank fog. Her body convulsed once more but instead of writhing in pain, she merely began to shudder slightly.

She let out an exhale of breath, and her skin began to glow.

Sesshoumaru looked in surprise at her closing wounds. Surprise melted away into suspicion. He continued to look her over in question. "What are you?"

Kagome looked at him, "What am I?" She looked frustrated, her plum lips pursing slightly, "What am I?" She looked herself over before meeting his gaze weakly, "I can't remember."

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes annoyed at the situation. 'She can't remember. That definitely helps me...' "Name?"

There was a moment of silence. "I ...don't know..."

Sesshoumaru griped her arms tightly unconsciously mindful of her wounds, "What do you know? This little game of yours is in no way amusing."

Kagome looked frightened and fore a moment she didn't answer. Just when he was about to repeat himself, she whispered, "Nothing. Please, tell me... where am I?"

Sesshoumaru released her, slowly looking her over, from her frightened eyes to her disheveled and torn clothing, "In my home." He gestured at her once housing place, "You apparently you came from this box."

Kagome whimpered at the purple structure, "That..." She closed her eyes and shook her head at something. Sesshoumaru took her face in his hold almost gently, "Tell me who you are, girl."

She wrapped her small hands over his larger ones, and pleaded, "I do not remember!" She pounded on his arm.

Sesshoumaru inspected her face, "You aren't lying, are you?"

Kagome shook her head, "I deceive you not. Will you release me?" His touch was too comforting... She didn't like it.

He complied.

'She's like a child.'

Kagome lifted his arm and examined him, a bit of guilt filling her as she noted that her blood was staining his apparel, "Who are you?"

Sesshoumaru let out a breath, "Sesshoumaru Taisho. Now...come with me."

Kagome before rising from the couch, looked down sadly, "Please forgive me Sesshoumaru-san, for ruining your clothing..."

Sesshoumaru shrugged, "It is fine, now come..."

It would not do to have her blood soaked in torn clothes. He had to go out and there was no way he would leave her in her current state. She had delayed him enough that day, not that she knew it, but he was far off schedule.

Kagome latched onto his arm to steady herself and followed him to his stairway. All the way she'd gasp at each object that seemed to draw her attention.

"Such amusing... things." She stared in awe at a lamp.

Sesshoumaru snorted, "Quite."

Sesshoumaru led her into the bathroom, and over to his standing shower. "I need you to take a shower."

Kagome cocked her head to the side, "A shower?"

"Bathe?"

Kagome smiled, "And shall you be joining me."

"No."

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes, "I am not going to take a bath. Just you are." The explanation seemed to suffice.

Might as well kill two birds with one stone.

Get her and her clothes clean in one shot. He bent over to get shampoo and soap from the counter in the bathroom.

"Don't move."

He turned on the water to a moderately warm temperature. The sound of roaring water, causing Kagome to flinch at the sound momentarily. She stayed still otherwise that small slip.

The shower was started soon afterwards.

"This is soap," he held out the white bar to her, "And this is for your hair," He placed that inside the shower, and closed the translucent door. "Try not to drown yourself."

He exited the bathroom, contemplating.

There was a woman definitely in her twenties, who came from a box an old woman had given to him, and she possibly had amnesia.

So he knew nothing about her and neither did she.

It just got better and better.

And let's not forget that she probably had no place to stay or a family. Unless there were more of them in that box. God forbid.

Sesshoumaru, had he been anyone else would have ripped his hair out in frustration at that very moment.

And to make matters a hell of a lot worse, he would need to pick up a new shirt. He let out a curse as he surveyed himself in the mirror of his room.

"_Wonderful_." He removed the blood soiled shirt and moved to his closet. "Damned girl..." But she had apologized...and seemed genuinely guilty. A blue button up shirt was pulled out, and after moving to his dresser, he got out a fitted to wear underneath.

And speaking of clothes...

He needed something for the girl in the shower.

He sighed and pulled out some boxers that he'd never in his life wear, and another fitted. The he leafed through his closet. He'd have to borrow something from Rin later on, when he went there. She had a whole store in her closet.

Sesshoumaru picked out a pink t-shirt that was a few sizes to small that Rin had picked up for him while on a high school trip. It had some college name on it.

He got that and a pair of sweats. Hopefully they would not be too big on her...she _was _a tad small though.

Oh well. Clothing was the last thing he needed to stress over.

"I should check on her now. Hopefully she didn't cause too much of an uproar in my bathroom." He muttered to himself wryly, and walked briskly to his bathroom.

The first thing he heard was laughter.

He quickened his steps even further. That couldn't be good.

He had left the door open a crack, just incase, so all he needed to do was throw it open. The girl's silhouette was very visible through the glass, though say save for her giggling everything appeared in order.

He carefully walked up to the door and slid it open. He was greeted by the wonderful site of a nearly empty eight dollar shampoo bottle on the floor of the shower and Kagome a sod covered mess.

She showed him her palm, "Look!"

Sesshoumaru refrained from sighing. He moved her hand out of his vision and into the line of the beads of water. "Bubbles. Lovely."

He could have banged his head on the titles of the shower, he was so frustrated. She had been in there a good ten minutes, basically wasting his shampoo.

But it could have been worse. The bathroom could have been in shambles.

Sesshoumaru retrieved the source of his lament and placed it back on his counter. "I think you are done."

Kagome wiped her hair from her face, with a smile, only to have it splashed into her face by the spray of water. She giggled, "I believe I enjoy these...showers."

Sesshoumaru guided her hands into the spray of water to get the suds off, all the while shaking his head as he turned off the water. He straightened himself and grabbed a towel.

This would be the more complicated part.

He placed the towel on an arm in the shower. "I need you to remove your clothes, and then put these on." He pointed to the small stack of clothing. "Alright?"

He pointed to each and told her how to put it on and where exactly it went in relation to layers.

Kagome nodded as she wrung out her hair.

Sesshoumaru turned around.

He was no pervert, but there was no way he was leaving the room.

With his luck she'd probably cause a fire somehow...If Rin could cause a fire by boiling water for tea, _anything_ was possible.

There was the sound of the pattering of water, and the slap of wet fabric on skin. The sound of a towel rubbing against skin. The scuffling went on for a few minutes before there was a shy tap on his shoulder.

He turned around to see Kagome dressed with her soaked clothes and his towel cradled in an arm. She looked like a little child. Rin to be exact...

He almost could smile at the thought.

Sesshoumaru took the things in her arm. "Stay where you are. I'll going to put these in the dryer."

Kagome seated herself on the floor obediently, as Sesshoumaru quickly made his trip.

Kagome looked around his bathroom a bit sadly. Suddenly she asked- not to anyone in specific, but out loud, "My name? What is my name?" She closed her eyes. "I know this..."

Her eyes clenched tighter, "I know this!"

"Ugh!" She slammed her small fists against the floor and crumpled onto her arms. "Why don't I know it?"

She heard the opening of the door but couldn't bring herself to care to rise. "Why do I not know my name?"

Sesshoumaru looked at her. There was something about her. Something he had seen before. But he couldn't put a finger on it. It was so familiar though.

"Girl..."

Kagome slowly brought herself into a sitting position from child's pose.

Sesshoumaru walked passed her to a cabinet and pulled out a brush, "I'm coming to realize that...this is no joke." He grimaced at the 'duh' that seemed to hang in the air. "You really don't remember anything. At all..." The words hung in the air.

Kagome just shook her head, and Sesshoumaru told her to stand, "We're going out and I need you as presentable as possible."

Kagome merely blinked, "Going out?"

Sesshoumaru sighed for the possible fiftieth time that afternoon and moved behind her, "We are leaving the house." He began to brush her hair.

"And that?"

"A brush..." Kagome's hair was like strands of silk in his hands. He spent a minute running the brush through her raven locks, reminded of the nights he had spent doing that for Rin.

He braided her hair into one big braid and put the brush away, annoyed that he did not have anything to tie the end with. But what grown man kept scrunches, and barrettes in his home? And it wasn't as if he needed a hair-tie when his hair was so short.

"Come on."

About the only good thing in the situation was that, if anything, Kagome could easily pass for a normal woman who just felt like dressing for a 'fat day'. She'd very easily pass as a relative maybe...at least until he got to Rin's.

Sesshoumaru took her by the arm, and the two left the room.

Kagome looked at him as they descended the stairs, "Thank you..."

Sesshoumaru did not say anything. He merely nodded to show he had heard her. Was there really a need to thank him though? This was the second time in the last hour that she had done so.

What was she really thanking his for were there any hidden implication in her thanks?

Sesshoumaru grabbed a light jacket, "Put this on." Kagome held it to her view, a little uncertainly. "How?"

Sesshoumaru helped her into the jacket.

Maybe God was making up for the lost twelve years that he missed out with Rin, in this twisted way. That was possible, right?

Kagome looked awed at the fabric of the material but didn't ask any questions, something which he was grateful for.

He looked her over, and cringed.

She looked absolutely ridiculous.

"On second thought, maybe we should get you your clothes, now..."

(Tsuki)

"And that, is a skirt." He drawled, once they were at the mall. Apparently there was some sale or another here and his finances wouldn't be too crippled, but they'd be there for a good while. The lines went out a good mile from the register.

Sesshoumaru picked up the brown skirt, Kagome seemed to like. It was brown and ruffled with sequences on them, straight from the states, and looking like something a gypsy would wear.

He held it up in front of Kagome's waist, "I suppose that's the right size... I'll have you try it on later." He muttered the last to himself as he draped the skirt on his arm.

Kagome clapped her hands excitedly, and moved on to the next rack, Sesshoumaru in tow.

They wouldn't start out with much at first. There was no way to know how long he would have the _pleasure_ of having to look after her.

He began picking up things that she would need as she leafed through shirts.

"Flirt?"

Sesshoumaru lifted a brow, "What?"

Kagome picked up the shirt, "What is 'flirt'?"

He took the shirt from her. "You can understand English?"

"If that tongue is 'English,'" she referred to the writing on the shirt, "then yes..."

Sesshoumaru smirked, "Then I just found you a job." At his job, they were looking for someone who would be able to verbally translate documents from English to Japanese.

Something he could easily do, but...it was a woman populated level.

Kagome smiled interrupting his thoughts, "I'm guessing that that is good." Sesshoumaru let a small smile grace his feature, "Very."

They spent a half hour more in the section, Kagome questioning and Sesshoumaru answering until they had to move on to the next section. Lingerie.

Sesshoumaru rubbed his brow.

This would be the most difficult part.

He walked up to a salesman, a girl with straight dark brown hair that was streaked with blond and red. She smiled at him, "How may I help you?"

Sesshoumaru gestured towards Kagome schooling his features to fit his next words, "This is my ...friend." He improvised, "She recently lost everything in an apartment fire and seemed to have acquired amnesia from the trauma."

He mentally smirked as the girl put a hand over her mouth.

The saleswoman cast sympathetic eyes on Kagome, "I am so sorry..."

"As am I, but my problem is that I have no idea what her ...sizes are. Could you possibly be of help? I'm trying to get her back on her feet and getting her clothing seemed to be a good place to start."

She nodded, "Wait right here, I'll be back in a second." She walked off quickly in a slight jog.

Kagome cocked her head to the side, "Sizes?"

Sesshoumaru one handedly rubbed the area of temple, "I suppose you'll find out soon enough." He nodded in the direction of the woman who was just coming back. She held in her hand measurement tape.

"Would you mind removing your jacket?"

Kagome fumbled with the zipper and her amethyst painted fingers just couldn't seem to pull the triangular metal piece downward. Sesshoumaru took hold of the zipper and unzipped it for her. She handed him the lent jacket, gratefully, and the saleswoman was free to take her measurements.

She smiled after a moment, "Alright, all done." She glanced at the numbers, "Sir, if you would like I could pick up the items for you. I know men sometimes aren't comfortable in these sections."

Sesshoumaru bowed slightly, "Thank you."

"It's not problem. We'll be but a few minutes."

Sesshoumaru nodded, "That's fine." He needed to pick up shoes for her. He was pretty sure he knew her size. Plus there was no way he was waiting any longer in there. There had been enough trouble with Rin when she had been in her teen stages to last his lifetime, and he definitely did not want to go through it again.

So he picked up a pair of sneakers, boots, flip flops and a few pairs of socks.

So he definitely was going to have to pull more than his weight at work, and possibly work over time if Kagome didn't get that job, Sesshoumaru decided as he went over to the lingerie section.

Kagome was standing with the saleswoman with a smile on her face, and an armful of underwear sets.

The woman smiled, "I'll leave you two to pay. I have to do some work in the back."

Kagome smiled back, "Thank you!"

Sesshoumaru and Kagome left to go pay. Their small mountain of clothing was all in Sesshoumaru's arms as they stood in line. The line thankfully had dwindled to the size of possibly a block.

Well that was an exaggeration... maybe half a block.

The line moved surprisingly quickly but then again they opened up a few extra registers, so they paid and left.

Sesshoumaru looked at Kagome as the girl began to stumble a bit. She shook her head and walked on, looking around the parking lot for anxiously.

She moved closer to Sesshoumaru, something he noticed immediately.

He wouldn't have thought anymore of it if what had happened next, hadn't.

"Excuse me..."

Kagome held the bag closely to her chest, to an extreme degree. Her face, that had been pale to begin with, turned ghostly white.

She let out a whimper, and Sesshoumaru looked at her, before turning. Something was off with whoever was behind them...

Sesshoumaru turned slightly. "What?" His voice was cool velvet, with no hint of friendliness.

Behind them was a man, he had inky black and strange crimson eyes. He smiled a mockingly friendly smile. He shrugged reaching the couple, "Never mind...I had thought your friend looked familiar."

He grin grew, "However, it would seem that I was mistaken. Oops." He left them chuckling, not before looking once more at Kagome.

Kagome stood there for a moment...frozen, pale. Tears ran down her wide eyes as visions of a malice filled crimson eyes filled her mind.

She swayed on her feet with the overwhelming force of the pain the visions caused.

Sesshoumaru caught her before she fell, thanks to his quick reflexes, and before she passed out for the second time, she muttered, "Naraku..."

It would seem that instead of getting any answers...he had just gotten even more questions.

It was probably time to see an old _friend, _he decided Sesshoumaru looked at the girl in his arms and the empty parking lot around him.

It'd been a while, but a surprise visit sounded exactly what he needed to get rid of all this confusion.

(Tsuki)

Short ...I know. But I have writer's block... But on the note of reviews thank you for taking time out to send one.


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N.** Sorry guys this is so late. But hopefully you all can forgive me because-- Yay! I finally finished this chapter. I hope you all enjoy...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha.

'

**Shi no Kirei**

Chapter Three

'

**(Tsuki)**

Sesshoumaru was not sure whether he should leave the unconscious girl in the middle of the street with the bags while he got the car or to juggle her and the numerous bags and walk all the way to their ride home.

Well the car wasn't that far. She'd be fine...

But that man... What was his story?

Sesshoumaru grunted. Fuck it.

He hefted the girl over his shoulder and grabbed the bags. He was only wasting his time.

He had to get answers. And the sooner the better. This was not acceptable, not knowing anything. It was blindly walking into a situation that had been thrown at his feet...well on his couch. But either way it was disgusting.

Sesshoumaru made it to his car uneventfully. Everyone seemed to be in the store. He snorted. Wasting their hard earned money on fabric.

It was pathetic really.

Sesshoumaru dropped the bags that he was holding onto to fish out his keys. He found them in his right pocket and one handedly found his car key on the ring.

With a scowl firmly etched into his face, he unlocked the doors. Moving to the second row of seats, he threw the previously discarded bags onto the floor, and the baggage on his shoulder onto the middle seat. He placed her down in the back in a sitting position and buckled her in so she wouldn't go flying about as he drove. He didn't need any more distractions from her.

He hopped into the driver's side and started the car.

Kagome let out a whimper and her eyes snapped open, "Sesshoumaru?"

Said person looked at her in the mirror, "Girl?"

Kagome looked wildly for him and calmed when she spotted him in the mirror. She shook her head, "I had thought that you had left." Sesshoumaru gave her a questioning look, but said nothing. He merely backed out of the parking space and headed from the area.

Kagome started attentively out of the window, "Will we go home?" There was a hint of pleading behind her question.

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Yeah." He'd put the trip on hold for a bit.

He rubbed his forehead.

This was probably the one time in his life that he didn't have an exact plan of action and it was annoying him to no end that it was the result of some woman.

Kagome on the other hand was not attentive to the aggravation of her companion. Instead however, she was focused on the passing scenery. Kagome look her plum painted fingers that griped the seat belt and suddenly she frowned as she heard a whispering voice. She looked at Sesshoumaru in the mirror, but is mouth was closed.

The voices were static but she could start to make out words.

They were talking to her.

_Wake up..._

_Can you hear me?_

_You never could hide from me..._

_Please...wake up..._

_Kagome?_

Her eyes closed and the whispering got louder. There were several voices speaking to her. But what did they mean?

_Are you there?_

_I'm waiting for you..._

_Welcome back my pet..._

_Wake up Kagome!_

_Please!_

Kagome held her head, "Go away!"

Sesshoumaru looked back at her in the mirror, "What's wrong with you?"

She closed her eyes. Who were these people? They sounded so familiar. But why?

_Kagome...listen... please?_

Kagome tuned into that one voice, "Kagome? Is that me?"

_Yes...Kagome-sama...Find me..._

"Who are you?"

Sesshoumaru knit his brows. Who exactly was she speaking to?

A honking horn made Sesshoumaru snap back to the road. He made a sharp turn to avoid hitting another car.

Kagome jolted in the back and all connection quickly severed. Her eyes popped open. They were wide and confused. She stayed in silence for a moment, thinking.

Wake up? What did that mean? Wasn't she conscious now?

"What happened?"

Why was his voice so cold?

"Are you angry with me?"

Sesshoumaru snapped out, "No." He was just very annoyed. Not specifically at her, though.

Kagome whimpered at the tone but she felt a slight twinge of anger at her herself. She breathed out suddenly, "This is not who I am..." She was acting like a pitiful creature. It felt beneath her. It felt disgusting...

Sesshoumaru didn't catch her whisper, but Kagome was not intent on what he was thinking. At the moment

She looked at him in the rear view mirror.

Why was he putting up with her? She had been so burdening, hadn't she?

"I want to make this all up to you, Sesshoumaru."

He said nothing and Kagome pushed aside her surfacing feelings of pride. "Will you allow me, so?"

Sesshoumaru merely shrugged, "If you wish."

Kagome smiled, "Good."

**(Tsuki)**

Kagome insisted on carrying a good portion of the bags and Sesshoumaru carried what was left. He brought out his keys and unlocked the front door.

Kagome followed Sesshoumaru upstairs.

He led her to Rin's old bedroom. There was still a bed and some of her things still there from when she would come home from college before she got married and decided to continue her college work from their home.

Sesshoumaru gestured around the room, "This is where you will sleep. It's your room for however long you stay here."

Kagome looked around the room, everything looking completely foreign to her.

Sesshoumaru sighed, "Bed." He pointed to the Hello Kitty blanketed twin bed that was in the right corner of the room. Rin had insisted Sesshoumaru burn it when she moved in with Kohaku lest her husband ever see it.

In her owns words she had specifically said, "I'd die of the highest degree of mortification! He'd never let me live it down. I'd tell him to take out the trash and he'd just cough and say, "Bed set!" Burn it, Papa!"

Sesshoumaru had merely rolled his eyes and let the bed set sit there. Was he really expected to just shove it in the fire place and light it?

"Closet." He opened up the closet and a couple of shoes fell out once both doors had been opened.

Ah...Rin's shoes.

Another pleasant episode to be recollected. He rolled his eyes.

He could hear her voice saying unconvincingly:

"I decided I'd only take fifty pairs of my shoes. Don't give me that look! It had nothing to do with Kohaku! ...He was totally fine with the idea of me taking all my shoes. I decided this by myself."

As if.

He moved towards the wall and flicked on the lights. A ceiling lamp over head turned on. Kagome looked surprised, "These are the lights."

Sesshoumaru looked at her, "Any questions?"

Kagome shook her head confidently, "None."

There was a rumbling sound from her direction and she blushed.

Sesshoumaru looked at her, "You're hungry. When did you last eat?"

The raven haired girl automatically answered, "I don't need to eat." Sesshoumaru sighed, "According to your stomach, you do. Get changed while I make you something."

Kagome nodded and Sesshoumaru turned to leave but Kagome look uncertainly after him, "Sesshoumaru?"

He stopped.

"You have my thanks."

And she bowed.

He turned to her and nodded.

And then he left.

**(Tsuki)**

Kagome carefully placed her clothing on the bed. She smiled at the cartoon cat and traced it's outline, "Such a strange creature. But it's ...comical."

She laughed at the different 'creatures' on the blanket. "This is an amusing time."

She sifted through shirts, and picked up a speckled blue tee-shirt. "Such pretty coloring." Everything about the time was so...decorated. It made her yearn for something simple for some reason.

Kagome selected the shirt that she had been hugging to her chest but a moment ago and a pair of 'jeans' as Sesshoumaru had called them.

She looked for the undergarments that the nice woman at that store had told her to wear underneath her clothes.

"This time's garments are also bothersome."

If you needed directions to put on clothes, then they were not worth wearing...

Kagome unzipped her jacket and placed it neatly on the foot of the bed, the shirt and under top following suit.

She pulled on the bra with little trouble and slid on the underwear once she disrobed from the pants Sesshoumaru had let her borrow.

Ironically, however, the trouble came when she tried to put on the shirt. The pants had been simple...the undergarments had been simple... The shirt? Not quite.

Kagome grunted as she tried to stick her head through the arm slot. One of hers poke out of the head slot and the other unfortunate one had nothing to go out of.

"Nuhm...!"

There was a knock on the door, "Are you finished?"

"Ughnnnrh!"

She slipped on one of the empty bags and fell brusquely on her butt with a muffled shriek.

Sesshoumaru opened the door then and closed his eyes in annoyance.

"Wonderful."

That was perhaps the difference between her and Rin. One could dress their self and the other couldn't.

He went over and helped the girl up, "Stay still."

She stopped her squirming. "Mnkuyyy."

Sesshoumaru took the shirt off her and she stumbled a bit. Sesshoumaru steadied her and put the blue shirt over her head.

"Now put your arms through."

She did as told and he pulled the shirt down. Kagome did not meet his gaze, "The holes were misleading."

Sesshoumaru smirked, "I see."

Kagome crossed her arms, "You found my struggle amusing, didn't you."

He merely took her by the arm, schooling his face to keep in a smile, "Lunch is ready."

**(Tsuki)**

Rin sat behind the sewing machine, the pink fabric moving smoothly underneath the needle.

Rin smiling as she did do, finished the row of seams and stopped the machine. She cut the extra thread and brought out the flowing curtain.

She opened up the top portion of it and took tissue paper from a nearby diminished stack of plain white sheets and stuffed it inside the cloth. She pinned each side close and picked up a larger pair of scissors than the one she had used to cut the straying thread.

Rin neatly cut into the middle of the square sheet of fabric and from the same basket as the tissue paper she got two thick ribbons and tied each side.

She grinned at the finish product.

She had hand embroidered flowers and bumblebees on it in a darker pink and it looked so cute, Rin joked, rubbing her stomach fondly, "If this kid doesn't like them, we will definitely have some issues."

In a much louder voice, she called out, "I finished the curtains, honey. Can you help me up the step ladder?"

She winced and slapped a hand over her mouth as there was a crash of what Rin assumed to be a chair and her husband came rushing in. "Oops."

Kohaku had a boyish face despite his twenty five years of age. And his freckles further added to his young appearance. Kohaku panted breathlessly. "Not a chance."

He regained his composure. "Don't worry about the curtains, Rin...I got them."

Rin rolled her eyes, "But all I do is just sit here. I want to do something besides get up to go piss."

Kohaku hid a smile, "Well you're sewing, right? That's doing something."

Rin stood and pouted, "It's so boring. Can we go visit Papa? I baked him a cake and everything. And he had my herbs... Please?" She gave him her infamous puppy dog look.

Kohaku gave her a kiss on her forehead, "I can't ever say no to you. Fine."

Rin scoffed, "You said no to me doing any other labor than sitting."

Kohaku patted her stomach, "That's different. Now go get your coat—Never mind. I'll go get it."

Rin put up her hand, "No you don't. I'm pregnant not crippled!"

Kohaku blew her a kiss and walked off to get her coat.

Rin pouted, "Damn him."

**(Tsuki)**

Kagome bit into what Sesshoumaru prepared with a look of ecstasy on her face, "This tastes so wonderful!"

Sesshoumaru looked at her through the corner of his eye, "It's just a sandwich."

Kagome took another bite, "Will we be having sandwiches a lot?"

Sesshoumaru picked up his own sandwich and said noncommittally, "If I don't feel like cooking."

She smiled and polished off half of the sandwich.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes as he ate, contemplating. Kagome took that time to peruse his face again.

He was very good looking for a human, and by the looks of it, he was in his late twenties, early thirties.

She suddenly couldn't help it when she had the urge to ask, "Who is Rin."

Sesshoumaru eyes opened and found hers. He turned his attention back to his sandwich, "My daughter."

Kagome smiled, "You are married?"

"No."

Her smiled turned into a frown, which only turned into a furrowing of her brows in confusion as Sesshoumaru said, "She was adopted."

Kagome shook her head, "What is that?"

Sesshoumaru looked at her and placed down his food, "You wouldn't understand." Or rather, he didn't feel like explaining the process. It'd only lead to more questions.

"Oh. Could you tell me about her?"

"She's married to my brother's friend's brother-in-law. Something I was never sure if I approved of."

Kohaku was a respectable young man, but it was just the fact that he had to let go of his daughter so quickly when she was so young.

"She's twenty years old..." 'I think...' He inwardly rolled his eyes. He never could keep up with her age. He knew when her birthday was, but he just could never remember her age.

Kagome listened intently. He was fond of this Rin, wasn't he? She smiled, as he continued.

"She's still completing her schooling, and she's going to be a mother in a few months. Rin's...a stubborn girl, but she's intelligent and I trust her judgment more than my own."

He suddenly stopped. He was not prone to speaking that much to someone. The silence brought on by the lack of talking was disrupted when the doorbell rang.

"Stay here."

Kagome ignored his command and asked, "What does that mean?" She followed closely behind him and peered over his shoulder when he opened the door.

A brunette launched herself into Sesshoumaru's arms as soon as the door opened. Kagome hid a little off to the side to watch the exchange as the girl called out. "Happy Birthday Papa Sesshoumaru!"

Kagome smiled slightly. So that was Rin.

Sesshoumaru let his lips curve into a small smiled, "Ironic that you would visit when I was just speaking of you."

Rin laughed, "All good I hope."

Sesshoumaru patted her on the head much to her annoyance and he moved aside to let Kohaku in.

"Hello." He inclined his head in greeting to his son-in-law and extended his hand. Kohaku happily accepted it and returned the greeting.

Rin suddenly squealed. "Papa! You finally took my advice and got yourself a girlfriend! She's so pretty! I'm so happy for you! Ah! Why didn't you say anything? When did this all happen?"

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes, "You've misread the situation. This is my ...acquaintance."

Rin put her hands on her hips and Kohaku instantly moved to her side. "Calm down, sweetie!"

She ignored her husband. "And does your _acquaintance_ have a name?"

Kagome shyly supplied, "My name is Kagome."

Wasn't that the same name that had whispered in the car?

Sesshoumaru looked searchingly at her as the name clicked something from his memories. Rin smiled, "Well, I'm Rin and this over concerned, over protective, over disturbed man is my husband Kohaku."

Kohaku just pecked her on forehead, something that completely annoyed and melted her. Kagome smiled, "It is very nice to meet you both."

Rin suddenly gasped, "I forgot to bring in the cake!"

Kohaku put his hands on her shoulder, "I'll go get it."

Rin moved towards the door, but Kohaku easily beat her to it. She stomped her foot, "Damn him!"

**(Tsuki)**

Eh...not the kind of ending I wanted, but I'm just glad it's finished. Rin is going to have some fun with this whole thing and poor Kohaku...

So tell me what you think and whether I'm, not totally losing you.


	4. Chapter 4

A.N. You guys take yourselves for granted. Definitely. I love you all so much and adore your reviews (so much to the point where I print out some of my favorite my reviews and have a wall of ones that I loved lol) so when I take these hiatuses, I do so only because I need to. I'm a person who can't work well under stress and would have been dishing out angst ridden crap for almost half a year, so I've been straightening out my life as best as I can with those months I took off. Those who have been with me since Delightfully Disastrous know my whole 2005 summer keeps popping up this way and that and my home life hasn't been that great, but my New Year's Resolution is to finish all seven of these stories within '07. I hate to break my resolutions so you all won't see me taking another break for awhile.

So just for today, I'll play Santa. Merry Christmas! Here's my present to you all.

Thank you for the encouragement and support. I rely on you guys for that –wink- so in exchange:

Here's this chapter. Made extra long and with extra care.

-

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**Shi no Kirei**

Chapter Four

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(Tsuki)

-

Rin looked Kagome over as she shyly kept close to Sesshoumaru. She asked in confusion about something that Rin could not quite hear.

But that did not matter at all.

This girl was perfect.

Rin suppressed a squeal as she looked at her shining raven locks and her blue eyes. And she thought_ her_ kid would be cute. With her eyes and Kohaku's freckles it was bound to be adorable. But… Imagine theirs!

It would be like a super baby.

Nevertheless, she was getting ahead of herself. Looks were not everything. Her personality seemed alright, but one could never tell with women.

She smiled slightly and went over to her father's side.

"Papa, I'm still surprised you never told me about Kagome-chan...When did you meet her?"

Sesshoumaru kept a steady face, "She is the daughter of my father's friend. Apparently her apartment burned down and she now suffers from amnesia due to trauma."

Sesshoumaru gave an inward sigh making a mental note of the story he was constructing for the strange girl. He decided that the amnesia story was both the most truthful and the sanest sounded explanation.

Rin nodded, slightly disappointed. So she was only an associate. How boring.

Kagome suddenly said, "You are very much like I pictured, Rin-san. Sesshoumaru-san has told me a lot about you and I had looked forward to meeting you."

Rin smiled, "Then papa _has_ been saying good things about me," she chuckled.

Kohaku came in through the front door a large boxed cake in hand, "Rin really outdid herself, btou-sama. It's an awesome cake."

Rin laughed, "Well I was finally happy that you were letting me do some work."

Being babied was sweet and all in thought, but having so much free time on her hands never made her feels so useless. Thankfully though, Kohaku had not started his protective streak until a little more than two weeks ago.

"I'm twenty-two, I still have a long while before I get old like papa," she stated with her arms crossed, "I'm still able to do work, baby-addled or not."

Sesshoumaru cocked his head to the side, the barb at his age completely going unnoticed. Was she really that old? She was not much younger than_ Kagome _(it would take him awhile to get used to that name) then. She had to be less than a handful of years younger.

Kagome furrowed her brows and asked Sesshoumaru quietly, "Do humans age so quickly? Rin-san had been twenty not so long ago."

Sesshoumaru's lips quivered upward, "It is nothing of concern." A little louder, Sesshoumaru asked, "Rin, would you do me a favor and help Kagome hang up her clothes? She will be staying in your room."

Rin's eyes widened, "Tell me you burned the you-know-what!"

Sesshoumaru stared at her blankly, "I am not sure as to what you're inferring to."

Rin let out a groan and latched on to Kagome, "Come on Kagome-chan!"

"Be careful on those stairs, Rin," Kohaku warned quickly as the pregnant woman waddled up the steps.

He sighed and Sesshoumaru looked at him with pity, wondering how many years Rin shaved off his life with her pregnancy.

Kohaku looked at his watch, "We have to go soon. Sango wants me to help her with moving stuff."

Ah, that was right Kohaku's sister was moving in with one of his brothers friends. One of the people Sesshoumaru was very intent on meeting with.

Sesshoumaru nodded, "Tell Inuyasha, if you see him, that he needs to remove the rest of his belongings from my house, before I do that for him."

Inuyasha was constantly taking board at Sesshoumaru's house, whenever his roommate kicked him out.

Kohaku looked confused, but just nodded, "Will do."

-

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**(Tsuki)**

-

-

Kagome looked in appraisal at Rin, "Sesshoumaru-sama speaks so highly of you. It's…humorous."

Rin laughed, "Yes…Papa and I are close, to be honest. I consider him to be my real father."

She suddenly gave her a look, "And for the record, no matter what Papa Sesshoumaru says, I'm twenty two. I'm not getting older for awhile. _However_, every time I see him, I'm a different age. I swear, he's getting so senile!"

Kagome laughed and sat on the Hello Kitty bedspread. She suddenly became wistful. "It makes me wonder if I am that close to my father."

'If I even have a father to begin with.'

Rin waddled over to her old bed, and sat next to Kagome. She beamed. "I have no doubt that you were."

Kagome smiled, but for some thing in the back of her mind told her that that was not plausible. Something was telling her that her father was someone she fear rather than loved.

Rin peaked a glance at Kagome, "Do you have any plans tomorrow? I need to go run some errands, but my keeper a.k.a my husband," she rolled her eyes fondly, "refuses to let me go without company. Do you think you could go with me?"

She batted her eyes and took her hands, "Please?"

Kagome looked flustered, "I suppose …if Sesshoumaru agrees, I would not mind either."

Rin hugged her, "Thank you! You don't know how much it means to me! I swear, I haven't gone anywhere in days!"

Kagome merely smiled.

So energetic.

She could really grow to like this girl.

-

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**(Tsuki)**

-

-

Sesshoumaru warmed up some of the leftovers from the pervious day's dinner. He placed it in front of Kagome, "Eat."

Kagome looked at the plate of rice and chicken and using her hand she took a piece of chicken and put it in her mouth, "It's better than the sandwiches!"

She closed her eyes in joy as she chewed.

Sesshoumaru shook his head and handed her a spoon, "You're ridiculous."

Kagome frowned, "What do I do with this?"

Sesshoumaru reached over and placing his hand over hers that awkwardly grasped the spoon, he guided her hand to spoon some rice.

"There," he turned to leave the room, "Now eat properly." With that, he left the room.

Kagome laughed with amazement, "How convenient!"

Smilingly, she finished off her rice.

She went to the sink and placed the bowl inside. For awhile she stared at the hand she had used to place down her utensils.

A sliver of the purple nail polish on her pinkie had chipped off.

Kagome frowned and shook her head.

It was an insignificance occurrence…wasn't it?

-

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**(Tsuki)**

-

-

"_Come outside…I found you momma now it's your turn…Find me…please, I need you."_

Kagome tossed in the Hello Kitty bed, a light blanket of sweat on her brow.

"_Come outside…_"

It was as if the words were a picture of their own against the black sheet of her mind. She grasped her pillow, "Who are you?"

"_Momma…come outside…_"

Kagome whimpered and her eyes fluttered open. She shivered a bit and wrapped herself up in her blanket.

Before she could stop herself, Kagome had gotten to her feet and was heading towards the room door.

She swung it open and rushed out into the hall.

Her feet brought her to the master bedroom and before she could reach the knob, the door gently swung open. Kagome took notice and with a stifled sob she stumbled into the room.

Sesshoumaru flicked on the lamp on his nightstand.

He frowned as Kagome climbed onto his bed. She shook underneath the blanket, "I… am not normal…"

Sesshoumaru gave a snort and stifled a yawn, "And?"

He was tired. He needed sleep and she seemed to not want him to rest. He cursed that box that had been the cause of this.

Kagome looked down at her hands, "I do not wish to sleep alone."

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and turned off the lights. "Fine."

With his back turned to Kagome, Sesshoumaru returned to sleep. As Sesshoumaru's breathing evened out, Kagome wiped her eyes and with a sniff she joined him underneath the covers.

Kagome laid her head next to Sesshoumaru's shoulders and hugged her face to her sheets.

"Thank you Sesshoumaru."

For the second time that night the blanket of sleep covered her mind, but minus the pleading words of the one who called her mother.

-

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**(Tsuki)**

-

-

Sesshoumaru's head rose from the papers he was editing for his job and looked at the raven haired woman who had insisted on explaining her distress from last night. He clasped his hands together as he came to a pleasant realization. "Wonderful. She is mentally ill." Besides the whole amnesia thing… she was now hearing voices.

Something had been bothering him throughout the morning, though.

Times like last night, where Kagome-apparently her voices have been calling her that- was infantile and dependent. But…then she would turn around and act dignified like when she offered to work off her debts and…like now.

"Schizophrenic maybe…"

Kagome looked slightly frustration, "I am quite sound, thank you, but I feel as if I need to look for someone important…"

"And your…voices told you that they were outside?"

Kagome nodded. "Yes."

"Well now…have fun with that." Sesshoumaru turned back to the stack of papers.

Kagome frowned, "You do not take me seriously."

Sesshoumaru looked up again, "Correction: I do not care. I have work to do and you are hindering the whole concentration process."

Blood rushed to her cheeks as she looked down at her hands. "I see."

She stood gradually, "Sorry for taking away from your work. I shall leave."

"Close the door when you do."

"Of course."

-

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**(Tsuki)**

-

-

"That bitch! At least I have _fun_. I can't stand that her! She's more conservative than a damn priest. I can't believe she kicked me out…again!"

There was a loud rustling nearby.

Kagome's gasped, nearly falling out of the tree where she had taken residence. "Who are you?"

She had climbed the tall, gnarled tree in Sesshoumaru's front yard. She had been sulking somewhat at Sesshoumaru's aloof attitude and barbing method of conversation, when a taxi had pulled up in front of the house.

She had been more than shocked when a platinum blonde man stomped down the walkway, a small leather bag in hand. His hair was tied at the nape of his neck and went far past his shoulders.

He looked up at the tree. He frowned a bit. "Girl, I think that should be my line. Why the hell are you in my brother's tree?"

Kagome brought her dangling legs up to her chest, "I had asked you a question first."

He smirked and sauntered to the tree, "Sassy, little thing, huh." He reached up and took hold of the branch that Kagome was sitting on, "Why don't you come down here? We can have more fun if we're both on the same level." He winked.

Kagome let out a small shriek, "Go away!"

The blonde snorted and leaned against the tree, "I was kidding. You ain't my type anyway. Girls don't quite do it for me."

Kagome replaced her legs in a dangling position, "You do not wish me harm then?"

He laughed, "Not unless your name's Kikyou."

Kagome shook her head, "I am Kagome."

"Inuyasha, younger, but hella sexier brother to Sesshoumaru. So Kagome, how about coming down?" He furrowed his brow, "Why were you even climbing a tree…in a skirt no less."

Kagome climbed down slowly her mood dampening, "Sesshoumaru—" Inuyasha rolled his eyes, and interrupted, "Let me guess. Was an ass?"

Kagome blinked, "He is a donkey?"

Inuyasha coughed and held back a laugh, "Come on….let's go inside. It's kinda chilly out for what you have on."

Besides the skirt, she wore a sleeve tan shirt and ankle socks. It contrasted somewhat Inuyasha's layers of clothing.

He was dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans with a lengthy jacket draped over one arm.

He took his coat and put it over Kagome's shoulders once she was on the ground. He then took out a ring of keys and perused them for the one that opened the front door.

Kagome stared at his hair, "The color is quite strange."

Inuyasha chuckled as he found the desired key, "Blunt too, huh. Sesshoumaru sure has some taste... My hair's not natural though. I bleach it."

He held the door open and gestured for Kagome to go in.

After Kagome entered, he closed it behind them.

He smiled wryly, "Now onward into the belly of the beast I suppose…"

-

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**(Tsuki)**

-

-

Sesshoumaru cringed when the door of his study opened and his brother's blinding head popped into the room. "Sesshoumaru! Your beloved brother's here to spend the week with you! And… I brought a gift."

He pushed Kagome into the room and placed her in a chair, "Surprise!"

Sesshoumaru scowled, "Go away."

Inuyasha sat on the arm of the chair, "See Sesshoumaru that's the kind of attitude that keeps girls at a distance."

Sesshoumaru raised a brow, "And you would know how? I thought you were gay?"

Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Fuckin' ass. Now tell me what you did to upset her enough to make her hide away in your tree."

Kagome flushed, "I was not hiding. I was contemplating…"

Sesshoumaru raised a brow, "In a tree?" He shook his head, "And before you come to any conclusion of your own, Inuyasha, Kagome is an acquaintance of mine, who I know from work. Her apartment burned awhile ago and she has amnesia. She will be staying here for awhile."

The story had to be changed up since Inuyasha knew their father's associates just as well as he did.

But as long as he and Rin did not come into contact, it was fine…

Inuyasha suddenly started laughing, "A woman has to have amnesia for her to consider living with you. That says a lot 'bout you, Fluffs."

Sesshoumaru smiled maliciously, "At least I live in an environment where were I to bring home any person, I would not get kicked out."

Inuyasha grimaced, "And it was Mirouku who was over. Kikyou, thought he was one of _my_ 'acquaintances'. So here I am. You know… I'm starting to think she's a homophobe. She sure as hell acts like it."

Kagome in the meanwhile had been playing with Inuyasha's hair while he was speaking. She played with the locks of hair at the end that had not been plaited.

Sesshoumaru rubbed his temples, "I am working. I have no time to act as your therapist Inuyasha. Take Kagome and make lunch. Then you can unpack in the spare room. Good bye."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Fine. Come on Kagome-chan, Sesshoumaru's PMS-ing right now, so why don't we go eat."

He removed Kagome's hands from his hair and led her outside of the room.

"Are we having sandwiches?"

He gaped, "Tell me Sesshoumaru has been feeding you something other than that!" He pulled her along, "It's no wonder you have no ass…We need something filling for you. C'mon."

Kagome reveled in the comfort of his grasp, almost wishing that Sesshoumaru could have been more like his brother.

-

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**(Tsuki)**

Yay! Four a.m. And done with the fourth story!

Happy Holidays,

Mikazuki Tsuki


	5. Chapter 5

A.N: New Chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

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**Shi no Kirei**

Chapter Five

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**(Tsuki)**

Inuyasha was a year older than Rin. He had been under Sesshoumaru's care for most of his teenage years with Rin, because he could not handle being in the same house that his mother had died in.

So, while most of the time both of them were in disagreement, he admittedly looked up to him as something close to a second father…even if he loathed his attitude and inability to dress in anything other than his morbid motif. It made him feel like he was in a funeral every time he glanced at his brother.

And speaking of his brother, he needed to hurry up with this lunch. He had made Sesshoumaru's favorite in honor of his birthday, since he had missed it.

Inuyasha poured some rice in a pot and put a pan of bread crumb covered chicken in the oven. The feeling of it was very familiar.

He was used to having to cook for someone other than himself, because Sesshoumaru could almost be labeled culinary challenged. He only knew how to make a few essential things and toast…but other than that he was not he did not care to learn anything else.

In addition to that, he cooked for Kikyou and himself daily, since she knew food just as well as how _he_ knew how guys could be attracted to her.

He cringed at the thought of the girl and turned his attention to someone who was actually pleasant, "So Kagome, tell me what you do know about yourself…unless of course you want to hear some more about me."

He had been completely kidding about the latter, but Kagome clasped her hands together, finding him serious. "Please tell me more about you."

Inuyasha lifted his brows, "Uh…Okay. I guess it won't hurt. Ask some questions, hun."

Kagome leaned forward, her brows furrowed together, "What is gay? Sesshoumaru-san addressed you as such."

The silvery blonde snorted in laughter, "Hadn't I known you were mental, I'd have asked if you were stupid. It means I like guys."

Kagome turned up her nose, "I am not Mental."

Inuyasha smirked and muttered, "At least you know what that means. Maybe you're—"

"I am Kagome."

He sweat dropped and finished his sentence wryly, "Not so bad off after all…" He wiped his hand on his pants and took a seat across from her.

"How long have you been staying with my brother?"

Kagome smiled and responded, "He found me yesterday."

Inuyasha mused over how she worded her answer. There was something so strange about her speech. His hazel eyes suddenly drifted to her hair.

"That's fucking _disgusting_!"

Kagome cocked her head to the side.

Inuyasha's brow twitched. "Dear God….What the hell did you do to that shit you're passin' off as hair."

Kagome's hands moved to her hair. She winced as she came upon a tangle in her once silky hair.

"I—?"

Inuyasha held up a hand, "Hell I don't even want to know. After lunch, I'm fixing that mess. It's a damn sin."

Kagome looked both flustered and amused, "You're very crude."

He shrugged, "So? It adds to my charm."

Kagome scoffed.

-

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**(Tsuki)**

-

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Sesshoumaru listened to the sound of laughter in the kitchen. He cringed as it brought back memories of having to care for Rin…as well as Inuyasha.

Both of them took refuge in his house for different yet similar reasons and both left completely screwed up.

Sesshoumaru marked down a few important pieces of facts on one of the case files he was reviewing.

He worked in a firm, on minor cases, nothing that major, mostly defense in small priority cases.

He only recently joined the month before after finishing several law programs.

Sesshoumaru sighed.

Had the pay not been decent, he would have quit years ago. He placed his work in a small leather binder and zipped it close. It involved too much written work.

Sesshoumaru stood and exited the room.

Now to deal with the two children in the kitchen.

Hopeful they had not done something destructive.

Ironically when Rin had caused the fire, Inuyasha had been instructing her on how to make tea.

He heard a squeal the clapping of hands and hurried his steps, once again an annoyed feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He walked in on Inuyasha with a deck of tarot cards.

Sesshoumaru looked at the scene from the doorway. A smirk made its way to his lips.

Kagome had created a formation from four randomly picked tarots with three in a vertical row and two in the center vertical row.

She flipped each over.

…………….. The Magician

The Chariot...Wheel of fortune

……………….The Emperor

Inuyasha flipped through the meaning booklet, but there was no need, for Kagome was already explaining the meanings.

"The magician instructs to show one's skill… He is the representation of power and the gift of tongues. The Magician is said to supply confidence. The chariot suggests a challenge but also a triumph over the negative and the positive. He represents emotions. The card of Fortune introduces chance, but the outcome, unfortunately is indeterminate and unchangeable. The Emperor, represents the power of mind, hand in hand with the Magician I suppose is a good sign, since they compliment one another's elements. The two encourage action. Fortune also allies the other two. It's a nice hand"

Inuyasha snorted, "You know your cards… Seems like you got it lucky, too."

Kagome smiled slightly, "For now. The Chariot was left to stand alone. It's a very neutral sign right now. But if I use it as the base, it's a very negative hand/"

Inuyasha patted the remaining deck, "Didn't understand a _word _of what you said. Ya know… you really seem into these. How about I give them to you?"

Kagome's eyes flickered to him, "But they are yours?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "You're supposed to say thank you when you get a gift."

Kagome smiled brightly, "Thank you!"

Sesshoumaru looked at the array of cards, "Are you an archer? Is that why you chose that arrangement?"

Inuyasha jumped, "Where the hell'd you come from? I thought you were enjoying your little cave.."

Kagome furrowed her brow, "Archer?"

Inuyasha collected the cards and answered flippantly, "Someone who does the thing with the bows and arrows. Hey, Fluffers…wanna have a go?"

Sesshoumaru suddenly shuddered, "You will never ask me that question again." Inuyasha blinked, "What's wrong with askin—Ew!!! Get your damn head out of the gutter. Bastard…that's incest."

Kagome laughed a bit, not at the words used in the conversation, but at the feeling of it. It was something she had never really felt before…

She took the stack from Inuyasha, "Allow me to do a reading, Sesshoumaru-san."

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and took a seat.

Inuyasha smirked, "I got the cards at Rin's favorite herbal shop. Apparently, the pack you got her, she lost. I saved you a trip and went there for her since I was at her house until this morning."

Sesshoumaru scowled at both the mention of the shop and his presence, "Why didn't you stay with Rin?"

And no trip had been saved. Sesshoumaru was heading there that evening. He needed to speak with her about this entire situation.

Inuyasha held up a finger fingers as he answered Sesshoumaru's question, "I had three very good reasons. One: She was like freakin' super woman. She wanted to play one-on-one on the courts…at like three a.m., not to mention, she almost shoved me down the stairs this morning just saying hello," he lowered his ring finger, "Two: She and Kohaku go at it like rabbits at night."

A finely structured eyebrow twitched furiously—the only movement on what otherwise would have looked like a very calm face.

Inuyasha continued despite his brother's irritation, and his middle finger went down, "And three: If that girl asked me how the name so and so sounded for her kid one more time, I was going to kill myself. That kid's gonna have fifty freakin' names. But anyway, it was a matter of sanity and suicide. So here I am…"

Sesshoumaru was about to say something, however, Kagome interrupted.

Kagome handed Sesshoumaru the cards. "Pick out a card, please."

Inuyasha turned his attention to the cards, "It's going to be hard outdoing Kagome there. Especially consider your karma, Fluff n' Stuff."

Sesshoumaru gave him a look.

These nicknames. God.

They were like hell within syllables.

She smiled as Sesshoumaru pulled out the card. Kagome put her hand over his and said, "Tarot cards are to be held within a considerable amount of seriousness."

Sesshoumaru snorted and removing her smaller hand her flipped his card, "The Sun," he let out a wry scoff, "Supposedly a symbol of the polytheistic god of the sun. A symbol of reliability, redemption, and clarity, am I right?"

Kagome nodded enthusiastically, "Yes."

Inuyasha laughed as he checked on what he was cooking, "I'm surprise he didn't get something like Death. I'm expecting him to have a stroke at any second."

The raven haired girl merely smiled and responded almost jokingly, "Maybe I gave away some of my luck."

Sesshoumaru scoffed.

-

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**(Tsuki)**

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After lunch, Kagome felt a little anxious. Sesshoumaru had agreed to let Kagome accompany Rin on her errands, and now Inuyasha was helping her get ready.

Inuyasha sat on the edge of the tub, "Kneel down and stick your head in the tub."

Kagome obliged. She had protested before hand that she had already washed her hair that day when she showered. Inuyasha, however, had gone on a tangent using words out of context and cursing every other word, so Kagome had given up.

Inuyasha turned on the water, making sure it was a satisfying temperature, before filling a pan and dumping the contents on her head.

Sesshoumaru, who had been assigned dish duty by his mentally ill brother, heard her shriek all the way in the kitchen.

Sesshoumaru only continued to scrub at the pan he held.

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**(Tsuki)**

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"Cold!"

Inuyasha felt the water, "You've got to be kidding me! It's practically boiling."

Kagome shivered as Inuyasha shampooed her hair. Grudgingly, he increased the hot water. As he rinsed out her hair, he asked snidely, "Better or are you still going to freeze to death?"

Kagome huffed, "You are dislikable."

The hot water was turned off.

-

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**(Tsuki)**

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Inuyasha laid out Kagome's clothes, since hers had gotten wet during the hair washing. (Of course, it had nothing to do with when he had nearly drowned her when he slipped getting a towel…)

He had combed out her hair and dried it, and now she could actually run her hand through her hair without losing a good chunk of it.

The doorbell had rung as soon as Kagome had changed into the pants Inuyasha had laid out.

She put her hair in a pony tail, and after grabbing the jacket she was borrowing from Sesshoumaru, she hurried down the stairs.

Rin was pleading with Sesshoumaru about something.

"Kohaku took my license and Kagome's definitely in no condition to drive. Please, papa! Think of it as bonding! Just play chauffeur just for today… Inuyasha disappeared this morning. I had planned on asking him. Hmph, if I see that guy, I'll strangle him! He completely stood me up."

Kagome looked at the top of the stairs at Inuyasha who hurriedly shook his head and put his finger his lips.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed, "I see. Well then…I suppose I could take you, since Inuyasha _is_ quite unreliable, incompetent, extremely lacking in ability, and he arguably is a failure as your uncle."

Kagome laughed a bit as she heard a crash from upstairs.

Rin furrowed her brows, "Papa…uh I think there's something upstairs…You didn't bring home another woman did you?"

Sesshoumaru grunted, "Don't even joke. That one is enough trouble."

Kagome crossed her arms.

Rin hit her father, "I bet she thinks the same about you. See! and she doesn't even try to deny it!"

-

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**(Tsuki)**

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Kikyou Yukari walked into her apartment, already knowing that there was no size twelve pair of sneakers next to the door, no coat hanging on the back of the couch, no lunch being cooked…

And no Inuyasha.

Even though she had kicked him out, she had not really wanted to.

But, she hated how he brought those men into the apartment, even though time after time he told her that they weren't welcome.

Kikyou stared at the door that she knew to lead into Inuyasha's bedroom. Her feet suddenly carried her to the black dyed wooden door.

Her gloved hand twisted it open gently.

She flipped on the light as she walked into Inuyasha's room.

Kikyou laughed a bit when she say the overpowering red design. Was that still his favorite color?

This was the first time she had been in his room in months. She glanced around. It had changed since the last time she saw it, though she wasn't surprised.

One of the new additions that caught her eyes was the wall by his bed. Parallel to the full red candy cane striped covered bed, was a wall of pictures.

She sat on his bed and stared at each one.

Her eyes filled with tears when she saw a picture of the same man that had been there Saturday morning. He was kissing a tall brunette.

Kikyou's eyes moved to each one. Some were of a younger girl, with bright eyes in a wedding dress, the same couple from before, and the girl and another boy who bore a striking resemblance to the brunette.

She really knew nothing about his life anymore did she?…

She hugged her knees to her chest.

They had used to be so close, now she was constantly kicking him out of their apartment for nonsensical reasons.

Her eyes suddenly caught sight of a red wired framed picture from a couple of years ago of him and her on his bureau.

Kikyou covered her mouth to stifle her sobs.

"What's wrong with me?"

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**(Tsuki)**

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Inuyasha rested on the vacuum he had just spent the last thirty minutes using around the house.

A timer in the kitchen went off. He grunted slightly surprised at how long he spent cleaning, "Done already?"

He had started tidying up the house an hour ago after everything for dinner was put into work. His motivation: "Hopefully, Sesshoumaru will dislodge the stick from his ass, when he realizes that his house no longer smells like something a cat crapped up."

The seafood had thawed and now he could get them fried. That along with sauce covered noodles would be dinner.

He had decided to keep everything mild since he was not sure whether or not Kagome was fond of spicy foods.

"That trash compactor will eat anything though. I have to wonder if she's even human..."

He let out a laugh.

Inuyasha suddenly sighed, "I wonder if _she_'s eating well." It took only one guess as to his 'she.' It was the same girl who had been on his mind since she kicked his out.

No …even longer than that.

She had been on his mind since they started drifting apart.

They had been as close as siblings.

Now they acted like… "I don't even know anymore."

Inuyasha sighed again, "What happened with us?"

-

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**(Tsuki)**

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Sesshoumaru now understood the role of men in shopping. They provided the method of transportation and they carried the baggage.

In short: men were lowered to the level of pack mules.

This was probably the fifth time he had accompanies Rin to the mall. Last time had been when she was just entering college.

And now that he thought about it…it had been the same thing then.

Rin suddenly pushed Sesshoumaru onto a bench, "You're going to have a lot to carry so rest up! I'll send Kagome out for you when we reach the register. C'mon Kagome we have party things to buy!"

Kagome allowed herself to he pulled by the very pregnant woman, now understanding why the one called Kohaku was so averse to leaving the girl alone. She was a ball of very self-endangering energy.

The two entered the party store and Kagome was shocked at the vibrant colors and the intricate designs.

Rin smiled softly in understanding, "I bet this all seems new to you." She took the older woman's hand, "I'll give you a tour while we shop! If you're going to be helping me, you need to know what we're looking for."

Kagome smiled back, "Thank you, Rin…chan."

Rin blinked and gingerly extended a hand. "You called me ….Rin-chan…" She squealed, "You are so cute!" She pulled Kagome and hugged her. Kagome laughed.

Rin let her go and showed her a list, "We need all these things. We need four bags of streamers, a baby shower sign, order thirty shower balloons, and a bag of white chocolate."

Rin had spent the car ride explaining the concept of a Baby Shower in the back seat of Sesshoumaru's car.

She led Kagome to the back of the store where there was a wall of packages of different colored streamers. They came in packs of two.

"Pick out two of the same colors, and I'll pick out two. These are the streamers."

Kagome nodded as she picked up the deep purple streamers, "Purple represents enlightenment, spirituality, wisdom, and creativity. They are attributes I am sure your child would have."

Rin smiled and looked at her in appreciation, "Thank you. It's a gorgeous color too." She showed Kagome the pristine white steamers she picked up.

"Hmm, I guess it'll add a sense purity and security, I suppose, but more importantly, next to orange, it's my favorite color."

Kagome never got a chance to smile for in the next aisle they heard a loud crash and the shelves shook violently. Boxes fell from atop the shelf and Kagome's eyes widened as one headed straight for Rin.

Rin let out a scream.

Kagome grabbed the brunette and threw herself against the floor, trying her best to lessen the shock for the sake of Rin's child.

Kagome struggled with consciousness as she felt a blanket of darkness overcome her.

The last thing she remembered, however, was the awkward feel of her wrist and the sound of a familiar cajoling tone.

-

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**(Tsuki)**

Inuyasha is my absolute favorite character in this story. I adore him. He can be an asshole sure, but how can you stay mad at that face? Impossible…

And Kikyou was brought in. I wonder what went on in their past since they obviously aren't like I'd set them up in Delightful Disastrous…

I'm having fun with this –mwuahaha-

(too much fun in fact…to the point where my brother has labeled me insane.)

But….who cares! –insert heart-

3,100 loverly words this time.

Now review )


	6. Chapter 6

A.N. –Sigh- I feel so old. The days of Delightfully Disastrous feel so long off. From thirteen to fifteen and soon I'll be sixteen.

Time is flying…Oh well! On to Chapter Six!

Disclaimer: No, no, no! _I_ don't own Inuyasha—Inuyasha owns _me_. Silly...

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**Shi no Kirei**

-**Tsuki-**

_**Chapter Six**_

Sesshoumaru cast a glare at the garbage can that Rin had "sat" him by. What happened to the girl who used to pick him flowers-albeit they were most always ant infected and composed of weeds, and ended up in the trash as soon as the girl turned around..? What happened to the polite child who sat at home, drawing and did _not_ shop?

Suddenly amber eyes narrowed and his thoughts transferred to the titan blonde who was currently dusting the ceiling fan of his raven haired brother's living room…while standing on said brother's favored chair.

Abruptly, Sesshoumaru let out a slight cringe feeling as if something was standing on his preferred chair.

He was brought from his somewhat contemptuous thoughts to reality when he heard the piercing scream… of his daughter.

In moments, Sesshoumaru was up and sprinting towards the store his daughter had gone into.

Various people had taken up screaming and shrieking and dozens were darting from the store and crowding bout it.

As Sesshoumaru rushed in, he almost paused.

Slinking from the store, dressed in a casual gray sweater and a pair of black jeans emerged a blasé looking man. His inky waves of hair shifted slightly as he turned back to the store with a slight smile. His crimson eyes flashed in satisfaction.

Sesshoumaru jostled those in his way, uncaring in his rush.

He merely knew that he had to find his daughter…and the girl who had a feeling was responsible for all this.

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(Tsuki)

-

Kagome momentarily envisioned a boy…a darling red haired child with eyes parallel to an emerald jewel.

A name was on the tip of her tongue, "Sh-Shippou?"

They were seated in a field of dandelions and tulips and at that moment, nothing seemed to matter.

Kagome looked down at what she was wearing. A thick purple skirt that flared about her and a white haori donned her thin figure. Her hair was tied back with a waxed string and her feet were pushed into a pair of wooden sandals.

It was her hands however that drew the most attention, however. The nail polish on her hands had hairline cracks throughout her fingers.

Kagome looked up at Shippou.

He smiled brightly. He was dressed in a pair of blue hamakas and an egg white haori. His hair was up in a high ponytail. He wiped his tearing eyes. "Momma…I've found you! I've been so worried… every reincarnation...without you… it's been difficult."

He looked a bit downcast and Kagome wanted to hold him. She reached out and he held out his hand, his tiny digits shook a bit. Kagome grasped it and felt…nothing.

It was like touching air.

There was no warmth….there was just nothing.

Kagome felt her mind swirl.

"I'm not real, Momma." His tone was suddenly firm and Kagome felt like crying. Her heart ached.

Somewhere in her mind, she understood that the boy she was looking for and the boy here would not be the same.

"I'm at your shrine with your family. They're so close, Momma. We want to remember you again."

Kagome hugged him, "Please tell me, who I am?"

You're cocked his head to the side, "You're Kagome."

Kagome looked at him pleadingly, "But what does that mean?"

The redhead paled, "You have to remember, Momma." He looked fretful, "I'm Shippou! Don't forget! L-look for me! Naraku—!"

And then she work up.

Her wrist was twisted harshly underneath the weight of the brunette girl passed out over her and there was a warm liquid was slowly pooling on her stomach.

The cent of copper drifted to Kagome's nose and she her mind went into shock.

-

(Tsuki)

-

"S-someone, call an ambulance! ...Ow!" The woman who made the alerting call was soon afterward pushed aside by Sesshoumaru as he entered the aisle.

What he saw there made his heart beat a bit faster. The aisle was a mess of fallen merchandise and a smear of blood.

Kagome laid noticeably stiff on her back side with Rin firmly supported on her stomach. The scent and sight of blood was overwhelming.

Sesshoumaru reached down to grasp Rin's arm.

Kagome hissed, "Don't touch her!"

Sesshoumaru glowered at Kagome, angered that she would order him away, when the girl was clearing in need, "She's bleeding…her child—"

Kagome narrowed her eyes, "You move her and the child is as good as dead. She _will_ miscarriage. You will only make things worse!"

Sesshoumaru's tempered flared. He asked in a dangerous tone, "And what do you know? Who are you to instruct me on caring for her?"

Kagome's eyes found his and she gave a pleading whisper, "Trust me."

Sesshoumaru stared at her and then at the pale face of his daughter.

He retracted his hand…

And he did.

He trusted her.

He did not know why but something in her eyes made Sesshoumaru trust her.

A medic moved into the scene and Sesshoumaru took a step back as he called out, "Two injured; one pregnant, in her twenties unconscious! Bring a stretcher!"

The man suddenly turned to Sesshoumaru, his eyes calculating, "You didn't move either did you?"

There was a slight shake of his head and the man let out a relieved sigh and muttered to himself a small vote of thanks.

Sesshoumaru's eyes darted to Kagome.

'How did she know?'

Kagome's eyes fogged over as she slipped once more out of consciousness and entered a sea of confusion.

She heard the drowned out voices of Sesshoumaru and the medic as they worked on getting Rin up.

"Shit, we're losing the other girl…She may have a concussion." He took a penlight from his pocket and waved it in front of Kagome's unwavering eyes. He let out another curse and looked frustrated. "She isn't focusing. Get a brace over here!"

He gingerly lifted her arm, grimacing at the gnarled position of her wrist, "Do we have anything we can do about this? It looks broken…"

A tan raven haired man hurried over to strap Kagome into a neck brace, before dragging another stretcher onto the scene. "We can't do anything about that now! These women need attention pronto!"

A short haired woman with the same blue v neck uniform as the other three men rushed up to him. Her brown eyes hidden behind a pair of thin framed glasses, looked at him empathetically.

Unseeingly, Sesshoumaru looked at her.

She asked urgently, "Are you a relative of either?"

Dully he responded, "I am the brunette's father. The other, is under my care."

The woman nodded and supplied sympathetically, "We're doing all we can for both." She reached out to pat his shoulder but the look he gave her made her bring her hand in.

She gave a forced smile, "Well, follow me."

-

(Tsuki)

-

Their case had been classified as something almost parallel to a miracle.

Kagome had been deemed upon an x-ray that she had not been suffering under anything more than shock and a mild wrist sprain. Basically, she was completely dischargeable.

Under the condition that she would not do anything strenuous of course.

The raven haired girl had showed some signs of a mild head trauma when she made the claim that she was not certain of everything that had happened after the accident had occurred.

She bounced out of the plain room, peering inquisitively at the hospital band around her wrist. Kagome gave it a slight tug. She frowned when it continued to stay on her arm.

"I'll remove it when we get home."

Kagome started and looked up.

Sesshoumaru was leaned against the wall, a few feet from the doorway. He stood up straight and within a few strides he caught up with her.

She was dressed in a medical gown because her shirt and Sesshoumaru's jacket had been drenched with blood. It was an oceanic blue color and tied loosely in the back and flowed onto her pants.

Sesshoumaru took her arm, "How?"

Kagome cocked her head to the side, "How what?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, "How did you know so much about pregnancies?"

Kagome blinked owlishly, "What makes you think that I do?"

Sesshoumaru smirked a bit, "Which trimester carries the highest risk of miscarriage?"

Kagome looked at him in confusion, "The first…" Her response was automatic. She blushed uncertainly, amazed at how that had escaped her mouth before she could even have blinked, "What are you trying to prove?"

"When does childbirth occur?"

"Thirty-eight weeks after fertilization…But technically it's forty wee—" Kagome covered her mouth. Slowly she lowered her hand, "Please answer me!"

Sesshoumaru paused and turned to her, "Name the peptide hormone produced in pregnancies."

Kagome ran a hand through her disarrayed hair and grudgingly responded, "Human chorionic gonadotropin. That one was common knowledge."

Sesshoumaru pulled out a pamphlet. "Whose common knowledge?" He showed her the pamphlet entitled, "_Understanding Your Pregnancy- All You Need to Know_." He had picked it up from the nurse taking care of his daughter.

Kagome appeared flustered. She wavered on her feet slightly, "I-," She drew in a shaky breath, "As I asked before…What are you trying to prove?"

Sesshoumaru continued walking.

He could not quite answer that. He wasn't really sure himself.

-

Tsuki

-

Sesshoumaru was also not sure of exactly what he was expecting when he got to Rin's room.

But he sure as hell was not expecting her to be gripping a nurse's skirt and pleading with the woman to sneak her in some sour gummy worms, peanut butter, and pomegranate sherbet.

"_Please, _I'll pay you!" Rin gave her best puppy dog eyes. "I'll give you a quarter!"

The nurse gingerly detached the pouting young woman's hand, "I'm sorry, but I can't, dear." The brown eyed woman with lengthy black hair that was braided into a long French braid was wearing a pair of red scrubs and looking torn.

Rin sniffed, "Puh-puh-puh-_please_."

The nurse seemed to have an internal struggle between completely disregarding all codes of conduct and getting her whatever the girl was craving and crushing the poor girl's hopes.

The nurse bit her bottom lip and surrendered, "Wait right here…I'll visit the cafeteria."

Rin squealed, "Thank you Nurse-Lady-onee-chan!"

The planted a kiss on Rin's forehead, "You are so cute!"

Sesshoumaru cringed as the nurse sprinted from the room. "Does she know you are not five?"

Rin grinned toothily, "Even if I was an old person like you, I'd still be this cute."

The raven haired man suddenly examined her as he crossed to her side, "How…are you?" Rin hugged her stomach and sniffed happily, "She's gonna make it, Papa."

She rubbed at her eyes a bit, "I was so afraid that I was going to have to say goodbye without having even said hello. But she's okay…"

Sesshoumaru patted her head and she grinned conspiringly, "By the way, I don't know if this kid's a girl or not, but I have a feeling she is. She feels pink."

Her father gave a snorting laugh.

Rin suddenly noticed Kagome was there, "Kagome-chan! You're okay, right? I wanted to thank you for everything—not to mention apologize for such a crappy way to end the day."

Kagome only smiled.

Rin suddenly sighed, "And we didn't even get the damn streamers. We're going to have to reschedule."

Sesshoumaru scowled, "I will do the shopping for you."

Rin shrugged, "Then I'll chill with Kagome at your house." Her surrogate father found himself disliking the idea of Ring getting close to Kagome.

The nurse returned then with a small baggy of gummy worms and a partitioned Styrofoam bowl filled with Rin's desired sherbet and peanut butter in the other section. A spoon was placed inside the sherbet.

"Here you go, dear."

Rin gasped, "Yummy…Thank you Nurse-Lady-onee-chan!" Rin put the gummy worms over the peanut butter and placed some in the pomegranate.

She mixed both sides and began eating.

Kagome sat next to Rin on the bed and took a curious look, "Is that …pleasant?"

Rin nodded profusely, "It's amazing!" She dove half of the spoon into one section before doing the same in the other. She shoved it towards Kagome.

"Try!"

The nurse smiled brightly at Rin before turning to Sesshoumaru. She asked him to follow her outside. "I suppose Rin-chan is your daughter."

Sesshoumaru nodded and the nurse lifted a chart that was at the foot of the bed, "Well, Rin's case was actually quite strange. She seemed to be in bad shape when we first took a look at her, but then...then everything that seemed wrong on closer inspection was extremely superficial. We don't know what had caused the bleeding, but everything's perfectly fine now and your child is completely healthy. She's not even suffering from symptoms of blood loss. If you want we can keep her overnight to do tests but if not you can check her out and leave."

Sesshoumaru paused and glanced through the window at Rin would was giggling as she shared her snack with a surprisingly pleased Kagome.

He frowned.

This was obviously her doing.

It annoyed him to no end that this girl had seemingly so much influence. What exactly was she.

She could not be a normal human. Not by any means.

If the fact that she had inhabited a box did not give him that idea, then, it was the incomprehensible amounts of knowledge areas that she held.

Sesshoumaru turned back to the nurse, with a small smile, "I'll check her out. Her husband would be overwrought if he knew his wife was in the hospital."

The nurse let out an understanding laugh as Sesshoumaru turned once more back to the window.

-

Tsuki

-

A.N. I looked hella shady researching pregnancies. I had to say it was for Health (which I haven't even had yet…and even if I did, this year health covers "Good & Healthy Choices").

Cajoling by the way means: to plead with.


	7. Chapter 7

A.N. Updated.

Dedication: A huge, huge thanks goes out to this fic's 100th review. Thank you! And this chapter is also dedicated to Kags21 as an apology.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

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**Shi no Kirei**

**(Tsuki)**

_Chapter Seven_

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(Tsuki)

Sesshoumaru insisted on keeping a steady hold on his daughter as they walked out of the hospital. He firmly held her around her waist as if he feared she would disappear.

Adopted or not, he considered Rin to be his daughter.

And it angered him, that she could have been harmed.

He had been lucky that he had not lost her…

Sesshoumaru almost froze.

_The raven haired girl merely smiled and responded almost jokingly, "Maybe I gave away some of my luck."_

He had gotten the Sun. He had gotten clarity. When he was dealt the Sun card, it was a sign of understanding, realization, and sense behind the chaos. It signified attaining insight and intellectual breakthrough.

The Sun had many facets of grace, but apparently it gave him clarity.

Rin looked at him questioningly and paused in her conversation with Kagome, who seemed to look slightly pale.

"Anything wrong, Papa?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head and did not give a response other than that.

He almost regretted not letting her do a full read. He spared a glance at Kagome, the 'her,' blatantly clear.

She had given something up and gave it to him.

He tried to piece everything together. There must have been some consequence of her giving whatever she had away.

And realization dawned.

She had not been the direct cause of what happened to Rin. She had been a cause…though by indirect means. The concept was still agitating.

Rin was his _daughter_ after all.

And what of that man?

Was it mere coincidence that he had seen the man twice in such a short amount of time?

Sesshoumaru continued to rotate the situation over in his mind. Bits of the earlier Tarot conversation were coming back to him in thin strands. The girl had mentioned that there were two sides to her hand. A negative and a positive.

And with a sure feeling, Sesshoumaru concluded that for his sake, she had in her own words… 'Given away her luck,' and cause her hand to completely become negative.

He shook his head once again, but for a different reason, 'Self-endangering idiot.'

But for now, she was his self-endangering idiot.

And he was going to have to keep his eyes on her.

For Rin's sake, of course.

-

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**(Tsuki)**

-

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Rin insisted on removing her hospital tags before she would consent to going home. "Kohaku's bound to be home and I don't want to worry him. The poor guy. For some reason, he's been so stressed lately."

She obviously made no connection between her pregnancy and Kohaku's growing stress levels.

Sesshoumaru snorted and did not even humor her by gazing about his car, "And with what, pray tell, am I to remove it with?"

Rin laughed sheepishly, "Right. Can I borrow your coat then? The sleeves will cover it until I can get a knife."

Sesshoumaru's eye twitched. As if he would let Rin handle a knife.

He started the engine, "I will drop Kagome off first and then you. You can take it off when we get to my house. I have errands to run anyway." He looked at his watch. It was a little past four.

Rin grinned, "Good thinking, Papa!"

She was in the back seat with Kagome, who was feeling oddly drained.

The raven haired girl yawned and Rin looked at her in concern, "You okay Kagome-nee-chan?"

Kagome smiled, "I'm fine Rin. I feel...tired."

Sesshoumaru looked at her in the rear view mirror. Rin was helping her with the seatbelt.

"Well, we're not far from home, so don't worry. You're probably just overwhelmed from what happened at the store." Rin patted the older girl's hands and Kagome struggled to keep her eyes open.

"…Yes."

She felt drained… however; she could not bring herself to sleep, even though she wanted to.

Sesshoumaru straightened out the wheels and maneuvered the car into reverse and out of the sloppy park from Sesshoumaru's haste to get to the hospital.

Rin held firmly onto the back of the seat. She was a month away from the days where she could comfortable put on a seatbelt.

She leaned her head against it comfortable cover.

"Sesshoumaru-papa…?"

Sesshoumaru looked at her form through the rearview. "Yes?"

Rin sighed, "Did I worry you?"

Sesshoumaru snorted, "Worried would be an understatement."

The brunette laughed a bit, "I'm sorry, Papa."

Sesshoumaru turned a bit to concentrate on the road, "Why? You are well now."

Rin smiled into the fuzzy back of the black seat cover for the white leather seats. "Sesshoumaru-papa?"

He raised a brow and asked, "What now?"

Rin's smile widened, "Go get married…okay? I had hoped for you to have a double wedding with me, but now, I just want a little brother. So hop on that, okay?"

Sesshoumaru scoffed, "Of course."

-

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(Tsuki)

-

-

Kagome rubbed her eyes as the car pulled up to the modest home that was Sesshoumaru's.

"We are…" there was an uncertain pause, "home?" she questioned.

It felt almost comforting to say that. She had a home…

She smiled a bit.

She had not been able to fall asleep. But she had spent a good deal of the time thinking.

She thought about the boy named Shippou mostly, thinking about her connection to him. Vaguely she knew he was important to her. But how…?

"Inuyasha will open the door for you."

Kagome pulled the handle for the door and stood, only to be pulled back by the seatbelt. Rin laughed, "Hold on, nee-chan. I'll get that for you."

Kagome looked down at the safety device. "Oh!"

She had completely forgotten about it.

Rin pressed the release button and Kagome staggered out of the car. Rin gasped, "Nee-chan! Please be careful."

Kagome smiled, slightly embarrassed, "I'm fine…sorry if I worried you. I," she clearly thought for an excuse, "slipped!"

Rin looked at her surrogate father and drawled, "Slipped my pregnant behind! Go out and help her, Papa, she can't even stand."

Sesshoumaru internally let out a sigh and opened his door. He gracefully unfolded himself from his seated position and took her elbow. Kagome looked up at him, surprise clearly written in her large blue eyes, "I-I'm fine," she repeated.

Sesshoumaru snorted and with one hand supporting her mid-back he scooped up her legs and held her firmly in arms.

Rin whistled and muttered, "When I said 'hop on that', I didn't mean so soon!"

Sesshoumaru scowled and hurried up the walk to the house. He was not going to lie and say she was light.

Kagome's eyes flickered close as Sesshoumaru rang the door bell. They slowly opened again.

Inuyasha opened the door a few seconds afterwards. He whistled inciting a feel of déjà vu with the tone, "One afternoon sure as hell can change, at least _your_ relationship. And I never knew ya could be so romantic as to carry someone bridal style." He wagged his brows.

Kagome's head fell back and hit the frame of the door with a sleepy murmur.

Inuyasha winced, "Ouch."

-

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(Tsuki)

-

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Sesshoumaru had deposited Kagome into Inuyasha's arms, muttering about her being his problem now and had strolled past him to the kitchen. He searched for a container, and placed in a small portion of what Inuyasha had cooked, intending to force Rin to eat along the way. He also chose that time to pocket a small pealing knife.

He inclined his head at a gawking Inuyasha in a gestured farewell and left him standing there, trying hard not to drop the petite woman who was awkwardly set in his arms. "That ass!"

Inuyasha sighed he carefully brought Kagome into the living room and not so carefully tossed her onto the couch, "Oi! Princess, wake up."

Kagome opened her eyes and touched her head lightly, for some reason it hurt, "I …wasn't sleeping."

Her words came out slightly slurred.

However, that was the truth. She had not gone to sleep. She couldn't…

Inuyasha snorted. "Then you need to learn how to blink quicker."

Kagome moved into a sitting position, "I was just tired."

Inuyasha rubbed his brow and squatted down to be at eyelevel with her, "How much sleep did you get last night, princess?"

Kagome looked at him, "A couple of hours, why?"

The silvery blonde blinked, "Two?!"

"That's all I need." Kagome blinked in confusion as Inuyasha looked affronted, "On what planet, hun?!"

He rubbed his temples and pushed his silvery locks from his face, "Look—eat something then head to sleep, alright? Jeeze, you take the shittiest care of yourself. You're worse than Kik—"

He ran a hand through his hair and blew a harsh breath of air through his teeth. "Wait here."

Kagome closed her eyes and tried to sleep. But her mind refused to let her.

Inuyasha walked into the room with a steamy bowl of the lunch he had prepared and a blue handled fork.

"Here, eat," he commanded gruffly. "I swear. All this malnourished, sleep deprived crap has got to stop."

Kagome frowned, "I didn't know it was bad… I don't remember being used to needing so much."

Inuyasha suddenly sighed. Perhaps he was being too harsh on her. After all, she really did not remember anything. Plus, she had gone through so much.

But it was strange...

She was always saying she that she did not _need_ things normal people did.

It made him think that she was not quite so normal.

He patted her on the head and sat on the arm of the couch that she was seated on, "Well it is. Now just eat up and I'll help you get to sleep."

Kagome smiled at Inuyasha, "Thank you."

Inuyasha's kindness felt so familiar. It was as if she had known it somewhere before.

-

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(Tsuki)

-

-

The black haired man opened the back passenger seat across from the driver's side. Rin jumped a bit in surprise.

"That was quick."

Sesshoumaru dropped the container in Rin's lap before taking her wrist and slitting the foggy gray band, without a comment.

He collected the halves and pocketed those. The night was carefully tucked into the pouch of the seat in front of her.

He gave her a look that clearly read, 'Don't touch.' And she pouted.

"Now, eat. Candy and ice cream is not considered to be lunch."

Rin stuck her tongue out, "Fine."

She dug into the dish with a satisfied sigh as she recognized Inuyasha's style of cuisine, "I forgot how much I missed Inu-chan's cooking."

Sesshoumaru scoffed, "He lived with you until yesterday."

Rin rolled her eyes and sniffed, "I can still miss it."

Sesshoumaru reversed out of the driveway and turned onto the road in the direction of Rin's house.

"Hey, Papa, you said you have errands to run…Could Rin come with you?" She asked in a pleading voice, trying to use her cuteness to her advantage. "Kohaku's called to say that he's not going to be home for another hour and Rin doesn't want to be all alone." She dejectedly twirled her phone in her hands.

Sesshoumaru rubbed his brow. "Who exactly taught you that?" He never remembered the girl to be so manipulative.

Or maybe he was just too soft.

He gave an internal scoffed, 'Doubtful.'

Rin giggled, "Inuyasha."

Sesshoumaru scowled, "I see. Fine."

Rin could easily be kept occupied in the herbal shop as he talked to that Kaede woman. He turned into a narrowing street.

"So where are we heading?"

"Your favorite shop."

-

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(Tsuki)

-

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Rin nearly pranced out of the car as soon as it slowed to a stop. She waited impatiently for Sesshoumaru to make his exit before she quickly waddled to the door and pulled it open.

The ancient shop was such a wonder.

It was covered in vines and ivy and was a deep crimson and black with light slate gray walls.

As soon as the door opened the scent of orange violet incense wafted strongly onto them.

Rin inhaled the sweet perfume scent and held the door open for her father.

A wind chime that hung on the door with golden silver birds jingled in a soft melody with their entrance.

Sesshoumaru quickened his steps and entered the shop. Rin walked over to a high system of black and white shelving and looked at the jars dried flowers that had been set up.

Sesshoumaru walked straight to the front counter.

Kaede was standing behind the cloth draped structure with a small smile on her wrinkled face. "What may I do for ye, Sesshoumaru?"

The raven haired man ran a hand through his short cropped hair. He was more than agitated at the woman's nonchalant smile.

"I am sure you are completely aware of the reason I am here. Tell me about the girl."

Kaede continued to smile and asked with a blink of her good eye, "What girl?"

Sesshoumaru scowled, "She calls herself Kagome."

Kaede shrugged and responded airily, "Never heard of her." She brushed some invisible lint off of the counter top and straightened a box of handmade trinkets and charms.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, "Continue to feign ignorance and I will report this shop for human trafficking."

Kaede's smile widened a bit, "Ye level of patience is remarkably low. Follow me," she commanded after a short beat.

Kaede brought Sesshoumaru to a small corner of the shop behind the last shelf in the store. It was a corner filled with a system of shelves that touched the ceiling and were filled with books.

The gray haired woman took a purple velvet bound book and handed it to Sesshoumaru, "I suppose ye guessed that the girl is not… 'normal' if you will. This will explain to ye, why."

Sesshoumaru looked over the book. He opened it…

Only to reveal blank parchment pages.

He scowled, "Woman, what are you trying to pu—"

Kaede waved her hands dismissingly, "That'd be the problem with ye young people. They never shut up. Let me explain."

Sesshoumaru scowled down at the hunched form of woman.

This was the last time he ever went here. Rin's pleading or not.

The next time he stepped into the stop, he would probably be tempted to burn it to the ground.

"I gave Kagome to ye for a reason. The same goes for this book. Look at it again."

Sesshoumaru reluctantly complied and narrowed eyes marginally widened. The once blank pages were covered in an archaic text in a hauntingly purple color.

Kaede smirked a bit, "All ye need to do is translate it and then ye will get your answers. All of them."

Sesshoumaru spent a moment looking over the pages…

As he turned the pages they filled with the eerie glossy print.

He snapped the book close.

Kaede had disappeared, but no matter.

He had his answers.

-

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(Tsuki)

A.N. 2.5k worth of words! Go me.

Happy Belated St. Patty's Day


	8. Chapter 8

**A.N.** Updated. Thanks for the reviews.

**Dedication:** To my grandmother who passed away recently.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha.

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**Shi no Kirei**

**(Tsuki)**

_Chapter Eight_

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**(Tsuki)**

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Kikyou stared with distracted chocolate eyes across the table at a raven haired man with kind dark brown eyes. His name was Suikotsu Ijutsu. He was twenty-eight, charming, and aspired to be the district's top children's doctor.

In other words, he was not only physically pleasing but he also had goals and was nothing like a certain blond haired hothead.

Kikyou snapped back to the present as Suikotsu placed his hand on hers in a gentle fashion, "Are you alright, Kikyou?"

The raven haired woman smiled, "Yes. I did not mean to drift off like that. Sorry."

Suikotsu suddenly laughed, "Did you get in a fight with your roommate again?"

Kikyou blushed and gazed away from his eyes—the same eyes that seemed to know everything about her. "It was a small misunderstanding. I'm asking him to come home later today."

"_I'm worried about you, Miss Yukari… I want you to join this site. It's objected towards confused teens such as yourself. I know at least one other person from Hakuseki High is a member so don't think you'd be alone. Please consider it."_

_The Utopia._

_Based off the Korean comic, it was a safe haven for homosexuals. It was designed for high school students struggling with gender and sexuality issues. _

_The Utopia members were required to have an authentic school email address to sign up to prevent internet targeting. _

_And the Utopia soon became her safe haven, for the girl with no distinguishable sexuality and no true companionship._

Suikotsu smiled, "I'm glad. You always seem so depressed when you two are fighting. And when you're depressed, you can't even enjoy these breakfast dates."

Kikyou returned her eyes to his. "I am enjoying this. It's a wonderful café and you're a wonderful man. Why wouldn't I?"

Suikotsu chuckled and once again took her hand in his, "Do you know what you want to order?"

Kikyou picked up the menu with her free hand, "Would you mind ordering for me? I'm not sure what to get."

Suikotsu's eyes lit up, "Aright…I know just the thing."

Kikyou laughed, "Now I'm curious as to what it is…"

_Normally Kikyou disabled the Utopia's instant messaging function as soon as she signed into the site, but today the thought slipped her mind as she did her homework._

_It was rare for her to enter a one on one conversation with anyone, so when the window flashed open, she felt her heart rate speed up somewhat._

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes:**__ Hey! _

_Her hand shook a bit as she responded._

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes**__: Hello._

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__You need to work on that greeting. I got zero enthusiasm from it._

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes:**__ I'll keep that in mind next time._

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes:**__ You know… I didn't expect to find another Arai Hakuseki student here. Especially one in class A._

_There was a five sector ranking system using letters. E was the lowest and A was the highest based on grades and merits._

_Kikyou furrowed her brows._

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes**__: Who is this?_

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__Now where's the fun in just giving my name?_

"Are you ready to order?" The waiter smiled patiently as Suikotsu nodded and relayed the order, handing in their menus.

"I'd like two orders of the daily special with the recommended drink."

Kikyou cocked her head to the side, her mind drawing a blank at ever seeing anything about a daily special in the menu.

Suikotsu coyly folded his hands in front of him, "It's reward enough just seeing you guessing."

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes:**__ I like keeping people guessing._

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes:**__ The problem with that is that I do not care enough to continue guessing as to who you are._

_She had lied. It bothered her not knowing who he was. _

_A lot._

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__You're no fun. _

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__But how's this:__if I decide you're alright, then I'll give you my name._

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__I can agree to that. I will do the same._

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__So…Tell me…what brings you to Utopia?_

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__I don't know…_

Suikotsu suddenly looked unsure on how to begin, "I want to meet Inuyasha."

Kikyou raised a brow, "Why now?"

They had been dating for months and he had never shown a sign of interest when it came to meeting her roommate.

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__Would I be wrong in guessing that you're a guy?_

_It had been an abrupt question. They had spoken for half an hour already and all of a sudden to ask that question…_

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__Yes._

_There was a short lapse in conversation._

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__Then I be suppose I'd be right in guessing that you're interested in other females?_

_Kikyou paused. After a moment she started typing. Without another moment of hesitation, she pressed enter._

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__No._

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this site for homosexuals? And here's a little brush up on your definitions but that does mean SAME sex princess. _

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__I'm aware._

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__Then get the fuck off this site._

He shrugged, "I feel like I need to confirm something for myself."

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__You dislike girls._

_The notion hit her abruptly and she knew she had been correct in the assumption. He had been completely genial up until now._

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__I had a reason for having joined the Utopia._

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__Who are you to question it, just because you have a problem with my gender?_

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__I don't dislike girls. I just don't care for them._

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__And why shouldn't I be opposed to you being here? You're straight._

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__I'm not actually classifiable. My counselor sent me here to find out what I am. If I really think about it…I can't stand women but I can't like men. _

Kikyou let the subject drop with an, "I see." She smiled slightly, "We can swing by after one, then. It's Monday so he'll be home early to watch his soaps."

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__You have some issues, princess…_

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__Surely that's the pot calling the kettle black._

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__If you'll let me finish…_

_**ITaisho1B(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__You have your issues and I have mine so I can respect that. The name's Inuyasha. And if you ever want someone to sort them out with—call me. _

_**KYukari1A(a)ahakuseki,edu-Utopia writes: **__Kikyou Yukari. And thanks, I'd like to that._

_He had been her closest friend from then on and she his. He had been more open in his youth-kinder…vulnerable. He had needed her maybe more than she needed him._

_But everything changed when she finally made her choice. When she betrayed their bond. They drifted more and more each day from then onwards._

Their breakfast came then.

Frozen wild berry yogurt covered buttery waffles drenched in maple syrup with a glass of a chilled citrus blend.

Suikotsu hid a wince at the amount of sugar that was presented before him and Kikyou looked surprised as he thanked the waiter.

"What happened to not liking sweets?"

Suikotsu took his fork and brought a glob of the yogurt to his lips, "I want to see what about it has you so captivated. I'll ignore the fact that it's six thirty in the morning."

Kikyou laughed and put Inuyasha out of her mind.

She should just concentrate on building this relationship before trying to fix that one.

Right?

-

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**(Tsuki)**

-

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Inuyasha sighed, "Ses_shou_mar_u_!! This babysitting stuff is exhausting work! I had to drug her just to get her to sleep and basically had to spoon-feed her to get her to eat! She's like a five year old. Hell she's even worse than that!"

He was wearing a button up lime green shirt and a pair of pinstripe slate black slacks.

Sesshoumaru rubbed his temples as he stared with aggravation at his clock. Six o'clock in the morning? "You need a new house to squat in. Your voice is intolerable this early in the morning."

His brother flipped him off, "Well unlike you, everyone else has either a horny wife or a crazy girlfriend. And while Kagome's a pain in the ass…she's grown on me. So, get used to it, Sesshoumaru. This is the only considerable option of places to stay in."

Sesshoumaru scowled, "Leave my bedroom. I don't feel safe."

Inuyasha snorted, "Ha, ha you bastard. I actually do have a question though. Are you actually planning to try and get Kagome a job in Translation?"

His brother cringed at the name of the woman dominated department.

He worked for a bank constructing loans while that department was in charge of expanding them culturally.

Sesshoumaru moved into a sitting position on his bed, "Yes. She wanted to earn her stay and I doubt I could find another job that would put up with her."

Inuyasha leaned against the door, "So should I get her ready for that? I have to leave early today and I really don't think she should end up having to dress herself."

The raven haired man ran a hair through his hair, the strands still perfectly in place despite his slumber and returned to underneath the covers. "Do what you want."

Inuyasha exited, only to enter Kagome's room. He plopped onto the bed and snatched her pillow from underneath her head, "Rise an' shine, princess!!"

Kagome's eyes fluttered open as soon as she saw him she whispered fondly, "_Custos_… _desidero_!" She hugged his waist, "_Desidero_…" Inuyasha raised a brow, "Kagome?"

Said woman blinked, "Yes?"

He shook his head feeling a strange notion of déjà vu. "Uh…never mind." He detached her arms, "I need to get you ready. Come with me."

Kagome rubbed her eyes and yawned, "Mmmm." She slid out of bed.

Inuyasha gathered items for a bath, "How are you feeling?"

She smiled, "Well, thank you."

"Good…so you won't drown in the shower, if I leave you alone." He tossed her the bundle of bathing supplies, "Call me when you're done. I'm going to make breakfast."

-

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**(Tsuki)**

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What greeted Sesshoumaru after he had showered, dressed, and walked downstairs was a complete transformation. Kagome no longer looked the part of the child she seemed to play.

Her hair was plaited back in a large French braid and her makeup had been lightly done in a sophisticated manner. She was wearing an unfamiliar square neck trapeze dress that was framed with black and white trimming. The dress was covered in auburn, navy, and gray flowers against the white background that was the rest of the dress. It was held up by short spaghetti straps and ended a few inches above her knees. The dressed hugged her torso snuggly, only to loosen at the waist.

She was also wearing a pair of black wedge sandals that Sesshoumaru did not remember purchasing either.

Inuyasha smirked, "I took a trip home, and snagged some of Kikyou's stuff when I knew she was out with her boyfriend. She never wears the dress so I didn't think that she'd miss it."

Sesshoumaru merely rubbed his temples and helped himself to a plate after placing down the book Kaede had given him and his briefcase, "That legally constitutes a theft."

"It's _borrowing_."

Sesshoumaru sat down across from Kagome who smiled, "Good morning, Sesshoumaru." Said person only nodded.

Inuyasha sighed and moved to get his coat from behind the chair he had previously been sitting in. As he did he caught sight of Sesshoumaru's book.

He grinned coyly. "I wouldn't peg you as someone who would own anything velvet, Sesshoumaru." Before his brother could comment, Inuyasha had the book flipped open.

Sesshoumaru's retort died in his throat as Inuyasha's eyes lit with recognition and flittered across the pages. Sesshoumaru raised a brow. "You can read that?"

Kagome leaned across the table to look at the book. She furrowed her brows, seeing nothing on the pages.

After a moment Inuyasha shut the book and look up, mystified, "Read it? Yeah…I-I read it perfectly. This is some scary shit. It…sounded exactly like something I would say—like I wrote it…"

Sesshoumaru turned to Kagome, "What is in the book?"

Kagome cocked her head to the side, "I do not know. There was nothing—the pages were blank."

A honk came from outside.

Inuyasha rubbed his forehead, "That's Mirouku. Sesshoumaru, when I get back you have a few things to clear up. From what I read, I really doubt that bullshit fire story you gave."

Without another word, Inuyasha left, patting Kagome on the head in a gesture of farewell.

Sesshoumaru opened the book after his brother left, but the text still appeared indecipherable.

With a scowl, Sesshoumaru closed the book and began to eat his breakfast.

Kagome, long finished sat there and watched him.

The moment was familiar and foreign to her at the same time.

Sesshoumaru quickly finished and washed down the meal with a cup of orange juice. He put his dishes in the sink and after grabbing his things he turned to her, "Let's go."

Kagome nodded and followed him outside.

Sesshoumaru suddenly looked her over, "Inuyasha did not give you a jacket?"

Kagome shook her head, "I don't feel cold."

The raven haired man took his jacket off and placed it over her shoulders before heading off to unlock the car doors.

The locks on the doors popped up with a click and he looked at her over the car roof. He frowned, "Try to stay healthy, while you're under my roof."

He slid into the car seat and Kagome followed suit.

Once inside she sighed, "I apologize for my inconvenience."

Sesshoumaru drawled, "Really, do you know how to say anything else…?"

Her cheeks flushed and Kagome turned her head to look out the window.

She frowned sadly, feeling the need to do something to rid herself of receiving so many stinging callous remarks.

To stop being such a bother in his eyes.

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**(Tsuki)**

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Sesshoumaru easily convinced the woman at the receptionist desk to set Kagome up with a job assessment in the Translation Department. The girl behind the desk quickly called the department in question and briefly spoke with the manager.

With a smile, the receptionist reported that he would see her right away.

Apparently, he had not known the full situation. They were currently underhanded in women who were fluent in two or more languages and were in dire need of one.

Sesshoumaru left her with a red haired woman whose name he did not bother to get. The woman had only promised to set her up to interview with the department manager. "I'll contact you with the results later, Mr. Taisho."

The raven haired man gave a nod, "Thank you." With that, he took his leave in the direction of the elevator.

Kagome smiled in greeting, "Hello, my name is Kagome."

The woman returned the smile, "Ayame." She stopped walking, "this is as far as I'm going to take you. You just need to continue down this hall and enter the second door on your left. It's Mr. Ryoa you need to see. Okay?"

Kagome nodded, "Alright. Thank you."

The raven haired woman waved before heading down the chilly hallway, somewhat thankful that Sesshoumaru's jacket was still on.

She glanced at the paintings on the wall and the turquoise patterned wall paper that matched the red haired girl's eyes perfectly.

Her shoes made an interesting clicking noise on the smooth golden tiles and soon, Kagome found herself at the sought for door.

Kagome blinked and placed her hand on her heart, feeling it race within her chest. She was nervous…

Kagome drew in a breath and placed her hand on the door knob. Without another second of hesitation she opened it and found herself facing a blue eyed man with raven hair. He nodded at her, "You're the one Ayame said I'm interviewing?"

The woman nodded and he waved her in, "Take a seat so we can get this started. It's a quick and simple process so don't worry about it too much."

He seemed preoccupied in everything other than the moment at hand as he handed Kagome a packet of forms on a clipboard as soon as she was close enough to receive it.

She took the only available seat across from him.

The man hurriedly turned back to the stack of documents on his desk and leafed through them.

He abruptly tapped himself on the head, as if he had forgotten something essential. "I don't even know your name!" He extended his hand to shake hers and Kagome gingerly grasped his and shook it.

"My name is Kagome."

Kouga smiled, "Just Kagome or do you have a last name?"

Kagome drew a blank… Last name?

With a small smile she quickly affixed the only last name she knew of, "Kagome Taisho, Mr. Ryoa."

The man waved a hand dismissively, "Please, call me Kouga."

Kagome smiled, "Alright."

Kouga gestured towards the papers, "Just fill out the pages you can. They test out your ability to translate several different languages and based on your accuracy I will consider your value to this company. Don't worry about filling out more than one section, though. If you're only bilingual you are still an asset to us."

The raven haired girl nodded, "I see. May I borrow something to write with?"

Kouga started, "Ah! Right!...Sorry, Miss Taisho. I don't know where my head is today."

Kagome laughed uncertainly, "It's right there, Kouga-san." She gave a small gesture towards his head.

The raven haired man chuckled, not seeing how serious she was, "I see you have a sense of humor. I like that." He handed her a pen which she awkwardly received.

Kagome uncertainly looked at it as Kouga returned to his work.

She placed the pen between her fingers and made a small testing scribble on the sheet. Her eyes lit with humor as she looked at the blue mark, 'How amusing!'

Kagome looked at the sheets and recognition clicked with each word on the page and in a large, slightly awkward cursive.

The blue eyed man looked up from his work and watched Kagome fill out the forms with a raised brow, "You're tearing through that… "

Kagome looked uncertain, "Is that bad?"

Kouga shrugged, "I'll know when I check it over."

She finished the packet shortly after their conversation and Kouga let out a whistle as he checked it with several pages of answers.

"I probably don't even have to look at the rest. You've been spot on for everything." He smirked, "No doubt, you're perfect for this job. I'll hand you some forms to fill out and if you get them back to me tomorrow, I'll get you started then."

He reached into a filing cabinet behind his desk and produced a packet enclosed in a manila folder.

He handed it over with a smile.

Kouga then stood and Kagome followed suit. He once again reached out to shake her hand, "Thanks for coming in."

Kagome smiled, "You're welcome. Have a nice day."

She waved and suddenly he called out, "Wait!"

Kagome turned around, "Yes?"

Kouga crossed his arms in thought, "I thought your last name sounded familiar! Are you in some way related to Sesshoumaru Taisho?"

Kagome nodded after a moment of hesitation, "Yes…"

Kouga let out a small chuckle, "We occasionally talk sometimes. So did that stoic bastard finally settle down?"

Kagome cocked her head in confusion with an uncertain smile, "….I suppose so?"

The man grinned, "Well I'll have to congratulate him!"

Kagome returned the smile, "Good bye…"

He inclined his head, "See you later, Mrs. Taisho."

Kagome blinked as she exited the door feeling as if there had been some misunderstanding that she not only cleanly missed but clearly did not understand to spot.

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(Tsuki)

A.N. R&R


	9. Chapter 9

A

**A.N.** Whew! Almost in the realm of double digits. So yeah finally updating again. But I was state hopping for awhile and doing major college stuff, since I'll be a senior in less than a month. So sit back, relax and enjoy the read! (Haven't said that is years! Feels quite nostalgic haha..)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha.

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**Shi no Kirei**

**(Tsuki)**

_Chapter Nine_

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**(Tsuki)**

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The day had gone from bad to wholly intolerable in mere moments. "How is it that I suddenly married and did not know of it?"

Sesshoumaru looked with an appalled expression at an email sent from the Translation office from the jackass department head himself. It questioned the how long the marriage had been, when it happened, and finally asked why he hadn't been invited.

With a small yellow frowning emoticon next to it.

Sesshoumaru reread it with narrowed eyes, "And what grown man uses emotion icons in their emails?"

He closed the browser window in disgust suddenly looked from the computer in his cubicle, to the girl sitting a foot away on his desk. She looked downcast, "I apologize, I did not know what I was affirming. I have not truly married you, have I?" A strange sense of fear lit her eyes and Sesshoumaru were he any other man, he would have probably been insulted.

But as he were not any other man, Sesshoumaru merely scoffed, "Thankfully you have not."

What she had done though, as previously stated, was send his day to hell.

However he had to wonder how gossip could travel so fast in a law firm. Did anyone truly work in their offices?

And then he scowled.

Though perhaps the rumors had been aided by the fact that she insisted upon innocently sitting on the L shaped desk that bordered the walls of his cubicle after innocently asking everyone and anyone she could find for Sesshoumaru's location.

Perhaps that tying in with Kouga's disturbing love of gossiping had made everything worse.

Perhaps.

But undoubtedly, rumors were spreading with all the speed of a wildfire and with all the vicious consequences of one.

Sesshoumaru suddenly propped his elbows on the papers he had been working on. The fabric of this sleeves brushed against the black Acer laptop that was adjacent to his work as his head took a place in his hands.

He stared with narrowed eyes at the girl who was causing all these dilemmas.

And she stared back….as if she had done no wrong. When she, in all actuality, had indeed wronged him….horribly.

That was probably what was so amazing about this whole situation. She had caused so much trouble without even realizing that she had been making any error.

Amber eyes rolled and then narrowed minutely as he caught the scent of something.

A very distinct cologne.

One that only one man in the building would ever wear.

He turned his head just as Kouga leaned against the opening to his personal hell. Sesshoumaru scowled as the other man grinned, "Oi! You know, I honestly never pegged you as one for married life, looking at you guys now…. It just seems to work somehow."

Sesshoumaru's stoic indifference and blatant ignoring of the statement did not deter the man. Kouga simply entered the cubicle and sat next to Kagome on the desk.

Indifference turned to visible annoyance. 'Tell me he is not planning on staying…'Sesshoumaru rubbed his temples and ground out. "What do you want?"

One disturbance was enough, but a second?

If that ass thought he was actually staying there, then he would never get any work done.

Sesshoumaru inwardly cringed. 'That girl is like a magnet for misfortune.'

Kouga help up a hand and closed his eyes, saying diplomatically, "I can see your getting upset, Sess-kun. _However,_ I am not staying long, so you can chill. I actually just came here with a request for Kagome."

He sighed, "Apparently we're a little short-handed today." He put his arm around Kagome and grinned, "So I was wondering if you would do me a favor help out just for an hour or so. I know you're not officially on the pay roll, but I can account it into training so you would get a commission for it."

Kouga flicked his ponytail behind him, noticing only then, the chilling stare he was getting from Sesshoumaru. He mistook it for jealous and slowly removed his arm before smiling sheepishly. When the stare persisted he then winked coyly at Sesshoumaru, "I don't mean to take your wife away but—"

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, "I'm afraid there has been some misunderstanding." He bluntly told the raven haired man, "We are not at all married. This is the merely daughter of my father's recently deceased business partner. She suffers from amnesia due to unfortunate but traumatic loss. I fear she only gave my last name as her, because she still cannot remember her own," he gave an indifferent shrug.

Kouga whistled lowly and looked Kagome over in shock, "That's quite the tragedy."

Sesshoumaru returned to his work, mentally recording the story he was giving to Kouga as he continued to drawl with a slight frown, "I suppose." He looked at his watch and closed out of a file on his screen. "She had been pursuing a career in linguistic. However, although she has retained some information, she has apparently forgotten a lot."

Kagome smiled wanly and bow her head a bit in an apologetic fashion, "I apologize for the misunderstanding earlier. I get confused by some phrases in this vernacular."

Kouga waved off the apology, "I should be the one apologizing! I just spread that you were married to this guy, to half the floor." Before anyone could respond, he continued with a discomfited smile, "Forget I asked about filling in."

Sesshoumaru looked at him, "Take her and leave. You had said an hour? You may have her for two."

Kouga blinked, "Are you sure she should be working in her condition."

"Shall I get you a doctor's note?" he questioned sarcastically, and with a wave of his hand he dismissed both, "She will have nothing to do here, at least she'll be productive with you."

Kouga grinned, "Great!" Kagome frowned but was pulled away before she could finish her retort. "You intolerable—!"

Intolerable was he? All that coming from a someone—an enigma rather—who had literally appeared from out of thin air and now inhabited his home, took up a bedroom in said house, wasted his shampoo, and cost him a few hundred on clothes…. The list went on and on about the things she had done that had made her in every essence of the word, intolerable.

Sesshoumaru suddenly stared at the space she had preoccupied.

And yet…why was he still letting her?

Abruptly he wished for the day's end.

He was tired of being in the dark about this girl.

'Woman, I suppose.' He corrected himself as he twirled a pen between his fingers.

It was strange though… How Inuyasha could read that book and yet neither he or Kagome could.

Inuyasha acted quite familiar with her too.

He was usually not that quick to befriend women. As a young child he had been physically abused by a nanny for close to a month. The woman had been hired to take care of Inuyasha while his mother was hospital ridden and his father was at work. Sesshoumaru was in his last year of junior high so he was often required to attend high school prep classes. He had skipped one day and had come home early and gotten quite the surprise…

He could not recall a time where he had been any angrier. Which was slightly humorous since he and Inuyasha did not get along really during his childhood. But he had simply snapped at the time… Actually, it had been then that he had really known he was going into law. But that…was irrelevant for the moment. The point was…because of that scarring incident, it had taken nearly three months to completely adjust to Rin and with his son-in-law's sister it had been awhile as well.

Kikyou had been the only exception, really because of the method they had become acquainted through.

But even still…

They had clicked almost instantaneously.

Sesshoumaru suddenly rolled his amber eyes, and brushed his bangs back with annoyance at himself.

He was at work. This was no time to be thinking of such disparate things. He had a report to hand in. He had finished his assignment with the bank moments before. Sesshoumaru stood and moved towards his printer.

But that did not make it easier to put aside the subject. As he waited for the ten page report to print, his thoughts again gravitated to her.

His curiosity would not be quenched until he finally knew something about this person…this Kagome.

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**(Tsuki)**

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'_Foreword:_

_If you haven't figured it out my now, I've made you a journal with the help of course of our young mistress—who I'll admit was the one to finally get me thinking in this direction. I wanted something you could use…keep…_cherish. _And although I say basically the same damn thing about every year, I feel like this year's different enough to warrant something memorable. It's been nearly a decade since our mistress was placed under our charge….Here's to another ten years of memories._'

And then the first entry had been written.

'—_sat a top a dusty-gray smooth surfaced stone It was one of a dozen that lines that the perimeter of the mistress's koi pond._

"_Why is picking a present for her always such a difficult thing? I mean every damn year—you would think it would get easier, but no! Fuck…"_

_A dainty hand gently touched his shoulder, "How is it, that every moment you open you mouth, you end up spewing out a myriad of curses, Inuyasha?"_

_The man pouted, "I want to get her a present that she'll enjoy…I know I say that every year and I somehow end up getting something she likes, but I want her to especially value this. It's hard to believe that it's almost been a decade since your father put us in charge of you…"_

_The girl, who appeared to be the age of a twelve year old girl gave him a luminous smile as she wrapped her arms around him, "It must be fascinating to be in love…"_

_He sputtered and his cheeks flamed up, "L-love?! Who said anything about me being in love?? Don't misunderstand! I just think she's…"_

_His eyes widened slightly in realization and suddenly he chuckled a bit as he put the girl in his lap and rested his head on hers, "So I'm in love, huh?"_

_The girl giggled and smiled softly, "Could I offer a suggestion Inu-chan?"_

_He closed his eyes and murmured, "Idiot! Do you even have to ask? When have I ever denied your advice?"_

_She slapped the hand that was around her wais, playfully. After a moment she smiled softly and said, "She's always thoughtful—She likes quiet reverie and observation. I sometimes see her scribbling things down upon scraps of parchment during my studies when she overlooks them. But scraps are easy to lose, and yet her thoughts must be important to her for her to want to record them…"_

_A chuckle left his lips, "How the hell didn't I think of that? Thank you…"_

_She smiled although he couldn't see it. But after a few minutes that smile ebbed away. "Ano…Inu-chan… do you think anyone could ever love me like you do her?"_

_He turned her around his lap and looked at her, "Are you kidding? When you grow up, you'll have tons of guys lined up for you! Why do you think I train so much every day? I have to so I can beat off the bastards unworthy of you when that time comes." He smiled, "But I'm sure you'll easily find someone who genuinely adores you and if not you always have me, kiddo…" He pressed her against his chest and held up a fist, "Now I don't want any more of this love talk from my little girl. I don't want to have to let you go just yet."_

_She laughed, her azure eyes twinkling, "You'd make a scary father, Inu-chan."_

_He crossed his arms, "What are you talking about? I would be a great dad! Now come help btou-sama with his present…"_

_She imitated his previous actions and crossed her arms with a huff, "Child labor? Unlikely!"_

_He lifted her and carrying her away from the pond, "Please!" His lower lip jutted out a bit, "You know I have no sense of creativity! C'mon!"_

_She giggled, "…Fine!"'_

Inuyasha snapped awake. He yawned, "What the hell kind of dream was that….?"

It was slowly becoming a blur and all he could remember was that velvet bound book from this morning.

He rubbed his eyes.

Now was not the time for that though. He had his next appointment in five minutes.

Inuyasha worked for a fourth ranked entertainment magazine in the country. He was employed in publishing, as layout personnel. He was in charge of prepping and organizing their subjects for cover page pictures.

He took a sip of the now tepid mug of coffee on his desk to wake him up. Inuyasha then rushed out of his office and headed down to the Gallery, which was what they had named the area for their photo sessions.

It was a hexagonal shaped room painted completely white that had a white back drop a few feet in front of the wall furthest from the entrance. Various benches and props were located off to the sides and a door behind the backdrop led to the make up studio.

As soon as he walked into the room, he immediately commenced with barking out orders. But no matter how in charge he seemed as he organized the next project, behind the seemingly attentive, dominating demeanor, his mind was occupied with thoughts of journals and two raven haired women.

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**(Tsuki)**

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Inuyasha was arriving at exactly the same time Sesshoumaru pulled up in his car with Kagome. A raven haired man in the driver's seat, Mirouku, stuck his head out Inuyasha's window and greeted, "Hey Sesshoumaru! Long time no see."

Sesshoumaru removed himself from the car, and walked over to Mirouku's, "I've been meaning to speak with you."

Inuyasha unbuckled his seatbelt and gave Mirouku a pitying look as he muttered, "That can't be good." The platinum blond slipped out of the passenger seat and exited the car just in case with a wave of two fingers gesturing a goodbye.

Mirouku glared at Inuyasha for the abandonment and smile wanly at Sesshoumaru, "What for? If it's Rin-related then I can completely explain—"

Sesshoumaru slipped into the seat Inuyasha had just vacated.

"It's related to her." Her gestured behind him to Kagome. His younger brother was currently helping her from the car so she was visible to both men.

Mirouku gave a low whistle and patted Sesshoumaru on the back, "You sly, sly dog! Why didn't you tell me you got—"

"Finish that sentence," Sesshoumaru interrupted coolly, "and you will regret it. There is no relationship between her and I." In a less chilling tone he related, "The matter at hand is, that that shop you suggested for Rin… I was given that girl there."

Mirouku was oddly somber as he titled his head to the side and mused, "Given?"

There was no real sense of curiosity in the question. It had been as if Mirouku had anticipated that and were merely asking, because it was expected. Sesshoumaru mentally took note of that as he continued, "Yes, by that old hag of a shopkeeper."

Mirouku suddenly became his normal vibrant self, "I'm sure Kaede-sama would resent being called a hag of all things. I'm sure in her day she was quite… the looker."

He snorted a bit in a fashion that seemed to hint that he had once upon a time seen Kaede back 'in her day.' The noise however was so quiet that it was lost upon Sesshoumaru.

The man instead gave Mirouku a somewhat disgusted look, "Is there no woman you wouldn't deny?"

Mirouku pouted, "I had been being sarcastic!"

Sesshoumaru looked skeptical, but let the moment pass, "You were always so interested in extrasensory topics when you were younger. Perhaps—"

It was Mirouku's turn to cut him off, "Perhaps, were I to meet her, I could find out something that would answer all of the questions you have about Kagome-chan?" He mused over the question for a moment, "It might be interesting to meet her. But right now, my baby's expecting me home." He sighed wistfully, "Our new washing machine was delivered and I'm finally getting the chance to install her." He grinned, "And Sango-love's probably wondering why I'm late as well."

Sesshoumaru snorted and took the cue to exit the car.

However as Mirouku waved, Sesshoumaru had to wonder…when had he mentioned Kagome's name?

He whirled around to verbalize his question, but Mirouku's car was already zooming down the street.

Sesshoumaru scowled…That just opened up a whole new series of questions, didn't it?

He trudged to his car and locked it before making his way to the front door, which had been left slightly open. He gave it a push and stepped inside.

Inuyasha was there in the living room on a couch with Kagome seated on the floor in front of him. In the blonde's hand was the velvet bound book.

He was already rapidly skimming the first page. He ran a hand through his hair, perplexed. "This is exactly what I dreamt at worked. It's just in memoir format here." He nodded and continued staring at the sheet, "There was something about making some gift and the girl…" But when he turned the page and the page after that, 'There's just a whole lot of blank pages,' he thought in confusion.

Sesshoumaru took several quick strides towards his brother, "What girl?"

Inuyasha rubbed his temples, "I…or rather _he_, talk about wanting to give someone a present, so she suggests a journal." He held up the book, "Which I'm guessing is this…But there's just a foreword and a first entry dated way back in like the Sengoku period."

Sesshoumaru demanded Inuyasha reread out loud was what written and his brother complied.

He looked in awe at the book, before he closed it, "It never gives any clue as to who that," his eyes suddenly narrowed as he continued in disbelief, "_her_ that I was so in love with that I stressed over making this. Or more importantly, who that girl was that helped me make it…"

Kagome picked the book from Inuyasha's lap slowly. She had been staring at it for quite some time. After a moment of simply holding it in her hands, she hugged the book to her chest in a daze, "She had been so happy when she saw this. She sometimes read to me passages when I could not sleep."

Inuyasha grabbed her by the shoulders, "Who was it?! What do you know about that?"

Kagome one handedly held her head for a moment and she murmured to herself a string of syntax-less thoughts as she tried to remember, "…She was…Who was it? _Qui est-ce qui? Cher gardien qui il aime …la belle ..la belle gardienne aux cheveux de jais...__"_

She could only answer in a more structured manner, "My beloved guardian had fallen in love with the beautiful guardian…"

Inuyasha looked at her, 'First Latin, now French? '_La belle gardienne aux cheveux de jais'_, huh?' The faux blonde sighed and Sesshoumaru did not blame him for that response. That didn't really tell them much of anything. Just that he had not been the only one who watched over her.

Well the Inuyasha of that book, that is.

That probably explained Inuyasha's rare attachment to Kagome. But yet again, it brought up so many different questions.

If she had been Inuyasha's ward, how was it that she had ended up in Sesshoumaru's possession?

Not to mention, he had to wonder why it was she had so much trouble remembering even significant details. If Inuyasha and that other woman had been once so dear to her, how was it that she had forgotten them?

He mimicked Inuyasha's earlier sigh and exited the room.

Kagome looked downcast, "Does he dislike me, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha felt his heart ache for some reason at the mention of that. He tried to ignore the feeling, "He's just being Sesshoumaru, Kagome. Don't worry about it."

She nodded and something glistened in her hair, catching his attention.

He gently pushed her head down so he could get a closer look at her hair. Purple, metallic looking chips were scattered through her hair.

The blonde frowned, "What are those?" It was then that he noticed her nails. The purple nail polish was fragmented in various areas. Nail polish?

Inuyasha looked at her nails and for some reason, seeing them painted bothered him even more so than her question. He released his hold on her head and slunk down into the couch.

He suddenly sympathized a bit more with Kagome…

It sucked knowing that you should know something and yet… didn't.

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**(Tsuki)**

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A red haired teenage was casually seated in a booming oak tree. He was currently gazing sadly into the distance… "Kagome… Have you really forgotten everything?"

Why was he the only one that ever remembered anything?

Inuyasha was starting to remember some things, this time. But it was certainly expected since he had been to closer to her they even he had been. But they had all been reincarnated, all four of her beloved guardians and their children, her son,…her lover… And out of all of them, all save two, and Inuyasha, he supposed counted partially, were still in the dark about who they were. However, now she was finally there as well.

It had been so hard without her.

Without his Kagome…his surrogate mother.

But then again…it must have been hard for her as well… She had been alone for centuries hadn't she?

His eyes hardened. It was all that disgusting hanyou's fault…

If only she hadn't helped him that day! He never would have developed that sick infatuation with her…

"Mother," he softly tested the word on his lips. He yearned for the day to see her in person. No…he was more selfish than that…He longed for the day that she would embrace him as her son again…

"Shippou! Honestly, I'm starting to think you're part squirrel! How many times do I have to tell you not to climb so high! It makes me worry1€"

A pout suddenly formed on his lips and he muttered, "Squirrel? Too mean Sango!" He had been very proud of his fox demon heritage, thank you…

In a louder tone, he called, "Alright, alright! I'm coming down. So don't have a stroke, Sango. I'd hate to be the cause of my cousin's premature death…"

Sango scoffed, "Less talking, more descending. Mirouku says he needs help with installing the new washing machine anyway."

She muttered something under her breath but Shippou only assumed it had something to do with Mirouku's odd and creepy attachment with their new washing machine.

Shippou nodded as he swung himself down from the thick branch he had been sitting on, onto a thinner branch a little to the left of it, "Right. You can tell him I'll be right there."

Sango walked away with another wary command for him to be careful. Shippou looked out after her. Mirouku was also a strange case. He had once been very spiritually inclined. In each rebirth he inherited more and more of his prowess from those days.

However, he never once let on if he knew anything and yet Shippou knew that _he_ was seeking him out if he hadn't already…For advice, of course, as he had always done.

But, how was it that he subconsciously aware of who Mirouku was, and yet so close to him was Kagome and there was no hint of remembrance?

As Shippou reached ground he had to wonder…

Was that because history was always bound to repeat itself? Perhaps it made sense that it was happening this way…

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**(Tsuki)**

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_Even as a child, her pixie figure, and captivating eyes, had always made her a figure of interest. Especially, when she went into town with her father._

_Kagome…_

_Her father was the epitome of masculine grace. With eyes the same color as pure untainted oceans, strong, handsome features, and lengthy opaque hair, he of course embodied what the villagers had imagined the gods to have looked like. _

_He was a village deity who had denied the heavens to walk the earth once upon a time._

_The reason had been over fifty years ago when he had fallen in love with a mortal woman. And although she had long since passed from the earth before her seventieth year, his heart was still enthralled by her._

_But the girl beside him, who was almost a splitting image of her mother, eased the loss, almost entirely._

_He, in a sudden, burst of affection smiled as he gathered her into his arms, "What shall I treat you to today? Earthen food is all quite amusing, so I'm at a loss for what to have you try!"_

_They lived along the border between earth and the land of immortals and every year he took his daughter to his wife's village for several occasions. It was always the days of his conception, their matrimonial anniversary, her birth, and the anniversaries of her mother's life and death._

_Today was her birthday._

_A musical giggle escaped the girl's lips and suddenly her father knew the answer, "Your mother was especially fond of sweets and cakes… I'll have you try what these humans have entitled 'dango'. It's a very entertaining treat as its quite sweet, although it is completely made from rice."_

_His daughter looked up at him, "Rice, you say, father?"_

_Being married had opened his eyes to a world of new cultures and he wanted to share that experience with his daughter. That had been the main reason that he could not return to his homeland. It was much more fascinating here. And he shared his passion with Kagome. He taught her as much knowledge of the language as he possessed and even bestowed their clothing to her as presents a few times._

_Even things as simple as methods of dressing left him in awe. Yukatas, kimonos, the wooden sandals—they had all been a mystery to him. Those in his land dressed in what these people termed silk. Simple, somewhat formless garments for the men that looked similar to a yukata, but was much looser, sleeveless, but came in same length. They tied it with a braided ropes of golden silk and wore soft boots were they journeying or leather sandals when walking in leisure. Underneath the silk suits, they wore more form accenting, sleeveless cotton top in various colors. But his time in the physical world had given his a love for the hamakas, they possessed. He wore them in favor of the customary garments, though he did keep wearing the cotton attire from his realm._

_He allowed Kagome to chose what she preferred to wear, and she love donning the kimonos when they ventured into town and the yukatas on colder days in their house, but she was still fond of the satin dresses of his realm._

_He nodded in response to her earlier inquiry, "Your mother had to explain this concept to me, but apparently, there are different types of what we know to be rice in this world."_

_Although immortals did not need to really consume any form of nourishment, they still had the ability to, even if there was no necessity. But in their lands they never did such things as cooking, they ate food in their world in the state that it appeared in._

_Nevertheless, his daughter had received a lot more than simply her mother's looks. She required actual sustenance every so often. Not as frequently as a pure corporal would of course. But she felt hunger…she could feel the change in weather….and most importantly, she could feel pain._

_That was probably what scared him the most…that the one thing left in the world that he held dear—could feel hurt._

_Abruptly the pair were approached by a man. He reeked completely of smoke. "Milord Kirei," he panted, coughing a bit, "There's been a terrible fire! The guard's lounge of the prisons—"_

_He placed down his daughter and sharply asked, "Have any of the prisoners escaped?"_

"_N-no…not yet."_

_Turning to his daughter he touched her head gently, "Head straight back to the manor. I will be home shortly and with our treats, alright?"_

_She trembled gently with an uncertain nod as he swiftly turned._

"_Be safe," she called after him as he followed the man, walking at his stride only until he received directions to the holding cell's locations before he became a speeding blur._

_But his daughter had gotten lost along the way…_

_She had taken a wrong path and happened upon a man who suffered from terrible burn wounds of varying degrees all over his body. He had been unconscious when she found him and dressed his wounds with herbs from the surrounding forest._

_She would later find out that he had in fact been aware of the girl's presence… conscious and fully aware._

_The daughter had gotten home after the father, and the next day she received a pair of guardians, old acquaintances of her father from the immortal realm._

_However, guardians or not, the damage had been done and the obsession had already been seeded._

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**(Tsuki)**

A.N. Whoo! Every chapter I dished out today has thirteen to nineteen pages of amazing MT goodness and over four thousand words. Didn't think this one was going to make it, but it's at over 4.5k! I feel so accomplished.

So how'd you all like that? Tell me what you think!

R&**R**


	10. Chapter 10

**A.N.** Wow. Broke double digits… It only took me a good decade. But so much has been going on, surprise surprise. However, I ranted all in Simply Business' a/n, so I'll simply say, thanks for reviewing…and reading lol.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha.

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**Shi no Kirei**

**(Tsuki)**

_Chapter Ten_

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**(Tsuki)**

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_Two immortals, husband and wife, with a fondness for Kirei offered their services many years later. The mistress though filled partially with human blood, was hard not to adore._

_Had they known that their enemy would gain enough power to kill an immortal, they still would have repeated their fatal actions._

_They were the first two of the mistress' favored ones to die. Though they did so together, as they did everything…They died so that she could have the same marital happiness they shared. The house was never the same._

_It was then that Kirei knew that the day that he would lose his daughter was coming near. His daughter long since had fallen in love with a demon and would not allow even her father to convince her to retreat to the lands past that of Earth. Demons could not cross there._

_Which was exactly why she refused._

_To flee from the demon that stalked her, she would have to leave the one that loved her._

_Although he wished to dismiss Inuyasha and Kikyou, and protect his daughter himself, they foolishly stayed, too. _

_After all, he was not as young as they were, he would probably have the strength and skill to defeat the hanyou. He feared though, leaving the grounds to search for the hiding coward. He knew that would be when the hanyou would make a move._

_But Kirei was lured out anyway._

_The village he so loved…_

_The memories of his wife…the people he had grown fond of._

_That hanyou had had everything slaughtered by minions to get him away. And while, Kirei tried to save as much as he could, Naraku had struck._

_Though a strong demon, her lover had been ill. His daughter's husband had been hindered by word of the deaths of his parents. While he had attempted to seem blasé about their unnatural passing, the fact hat he had fallen ill, showed that he had been affected by the news. Inuyasha and Kikyou also were ill prepared for the horde of demons the hanyou brought with him due to their own losses. Their child and the child left orphaned by the death of his parents, had both been in the manor during the attack and decapitated before their eyes._

_To end the death and destruction, Kirei had been told by his son-in-law, in his last words that she had given herself up to the hanyou to end everything._

_Yet once in his hold, he had never ceased the killing spree. He forced her to watch in hopes that it would aid in breaking her spirit._

_In fact, Kirei returned home, just seconds before he could rip out the heart of daughter's beloved._

_In his haste, the hanyou had quickly vanished while placing a containment spell on the nearly devastated woman._

_It was an ancient dark magic, that was centuries old…_

_But Kirei had understood every word that he said. As the last wisps of miasma disappeared from the manor, Kirei could hear, "__If I can't have her, then no one can. In her box she will stay, just waiting for me to reclaim her,__" over and over like a taunting mantra._

_In the end the father and the adoptive son of his daughter that had gone along with him, were the only survivors._

_The son, almost a century old, committed suicide, and a lone immortal punished himself to walk the world for all eternity in solitude to repent for all the children that he hadn't been able to save._

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**(Tsuki)**

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That night, Sesshoumaru dreamt for the first time in months. And as luck would have it, he had a dream about the decrepit woman from the herbal store and the perverted entity that was Mirouku.

Of course upon awakening, he had no recollection of what exactly occurred, however he had the faintest inkling that it had been something quite disturbing.

A dream with those two together? How could anything else be plausible description?

He had a light sheen of cold sweat upon his forehead and the pallor of his hand was noticeably increased.

Sesshoumaru would have examined the other hand, but currently it was occupied. He vaguely had remembered sleeping on his side facing the completely barren wall, completely alone when he had dozed off.

But now?

He had company.

Curled against his back was the familiarly aggravating form that was Kagome. He could not see her, but he automatically knew it was her. Apparently she had taken to his bed at some point during the night and to make matters even better, she had taken his hand hostage as well.

Sesshoumaru scowled.

He removed his hand from her grasp and rose from the bed without a backward glance at her. He spared the digital alarm clock on his night stand one, however, to take note of the time. A sigh left his lips as he realized he had woken up an hour earlier than he needed to.

After splashing his face with water, he headed towards the house's den.

Sesshoumaru was slightly surprised to find Inuyasha there. His sibling had been staring at a picture until he saw Sesshoumaru enter and then he commenced to hide it between the cushions of the couch he was sitting on.

This had been Inuyasha's favorite place in the house when he resided there, Sesshoumaru remembered after a moment. Whenever Inuyasha disappeared within the house, he always headed towards the den.

Apparently old habits did die hard.

The raven haired man strolled into the room and headed immediately towards the computer that was set up in a corner.

Inuyasha ran a hand through his hair, "S-Sesshoumaru? What are you doing up?" He nervously began playing with the zipper of the zip up hoodie he was wearing over a button up pajama top.

Sesshoumaru took a seat in the red office chair that was set up in front of a metal desk that had apple red tinted shelving. He turned slightly towards Inuyasha. "If you worry so much about that girl, you should go and see her."

His brother flushed and crossed his arms, "Kagome's the one I'm worried about right now, Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha suddenly stared off into space, "I feel… like I need to be there for her for some reason."

"Go home, Inuyasha."

"I told you—!"

"Who was in that picture?"

Inuyasha's flustered appeared increased as his cheeks became a stark rouge color. "N-none of your damn business, that's who!"

"Hn…"

Inuyasha pursed his lips, "At least I know how old Rin is, you senile bastard."

Sesshoumaru smirked and turned towards the computer. "Senile bastard, am I?" Inuyasha merely gave a nod and a grunting confirmation. Sesshoumaru let the insult drop, "Have you spoken to Rin after you left her house?"

"Yeah. I apologized awhile ago so she sends me a few texts now." His eyes lit then and he suddenly snapped his fingers and he instantly blurted, "She said to tell you something about not pressing charges."

The faux blonde saw his brother turn around. "Against whom?"

"She said she would email you." Inuyasha let out a yawn and stretched out against the two seat-er couch with the den.

It was one of two twin, red slip cover adorned, loveseats in the den. Besides the loveseats, red framed pictures of Inuyasha, Rin, and even a few of Sesshoumaru adorned the walls. An oval shaped lady bug shag rug that was slightly worn, adorned the floor. It had been decorated by Inuyasha when he designated it a sanctuary of sorts, years ago and Sesshoumaru had never felt like changing it.

Inuyasha rolled onto his back and cupped his hands behind his head. "…Do you really think I should head home?"

Sesshoumaru logged onto his account within the computer. "Would I have told you to go if I didn't?"

Inuyasha scoffed, "True."

There was an abrupt yet gentle knock on the door, and Kagome gingerly entered the room, "Excuse the intrusion…"

Inuyasha smiled a bit, "Couldn't sleep, princess?"

Kagome's eyes roved towards to Sesshoumaru before she responded cryptically, "…I was not supposed to be asleep in the first place."

Sesshoumaru absentmindedly heard her as he signed into personal email account. The topmost email was unsurprisingly from Rin.

Inuyasha looked Kagome over. She was dressed in an old pajama set of Rin. It was noticeably small on the girl, so the blonde could only guess that it was from Rin's teenage days. The pale yellow long sleeved top bared her midriff slightly and the pants ended several inches above her ankles. "Idiot, what are you doing wearing that old thing?"

Kagome moved towards the couch and gestured towards the cutesy dango prints that lined the waistline and breast pocket the pajamas and patterned the pants, "The humorous images on it, they had reminded me of ….something."

Sesshoumaru skimmed his email as Kagome crawled onto the couch and lay next to Inuyasha, "I had a dream, Inu-chan…" she said in a muffled voice as she buried herself into his chest.

Inuyasha initially had frozen up at the name, but eased considerably as the girl spoke. "I felt quite comforted by it. Is that odd?"

Sesshoumaru reread the message.

_Hi Papa!_

_I meant to tell you earlier, but I was asked if I wanted to place charges against that store I had that nasty little accident in (which reminds me, you still need to pinky promise me that you won't tell Kohaku!). But they sent me reparations in store credit form!! (How nice right?) Personally, I feel since Kagome, my baby, and I are all fine, there's no need to go through all that hassle. Besides, I don't know how I could possibly hide a lawsuit from Kohaku… _

_Anyway, my baby shower's looking like it'll be absolutely amazing, so spread the word!!! Remember, it's three days from when you read this (four if Inuyasha promptly remembered to tell you what I texted him—which I doubt)! Soo exciting! Kohaku said my baby's due in a month exactly to that day! I know I told you that before, but I'm so excited! I'm having a baby!!!!_

_Love you always,_

_Rin _

If Kouga abused the emoticon concept, Rin massacred not only that, but the point of exclamation points as well…. Sesshoumaru stopped looking over it, feeling the colorful text and icons coupled with the curvaceous font a little too much for such an early hour. He turned around in his chair as Inuyasha responded to her question. He tuned into their conversation. Inuyasha was asking her question. "Why would that be weird, princess?"

"What does it feel like to have a father, Inu-chan?" Her voice sounded drowsy in addition to being muffled.

Inuyasha looked at Sesshoumaru with a perplexed expression as he answered, "What do you mean?"

"How did it feel when you two were together?"

Sesshoumaru looked at Kagome abruptly, "You believe you had a dream about your father?" It was less a question than it was a statement. For some reason, he could not get the sight of that woman—Kaede out of his mind.

Kagome looked at him with a small smile, partially due to the fact that she was glad that he was speaking to her, and partially out of remembrance of her dream. "I dearly wish it was of him… That man seemed so kind and I felt strong affection towards him."

"And it was not Inuyasha?"

Kagome detached herself from the man in question and looked at him. Azure eyes narrowed a bit in thought. She slid off the couch and kneeled in front of him. The girl touched his cheek and scrutinized him, "No. It was not him."

Inuyasha stared back at her and slowly sat up, careful not to hit her with the action. He was starting to get uncomfortable with how comfortable he felt around her. But he tossed over what she had revealed, in his own mind. "Your father," he mused mostly to himself. His eyes glazed over a bit as he zoned out.

Would it possible for he too, to be able to recall this father of hers?

Sesshoumaru abruptly rubbed his eyes, "So you do have family." That did nothing to ebb away the confusion he felt at her appearance.

Inuyasha slowly rose from the couch completely. Perhaps he needed some time to think. "You know, Sess, I think I will head home. I have to return that stuff Kagome wore yesterday anyway." He patted Kagome on the head, "I'll see you later though, princess," he added when Kagome's face suddenly clouded over.

Sesshoumaru nodded vaguely and rose as well. "Try not to get into trouble," he murmured dryly as he left the room.

His brother rolled his eyes with a snort, "He always knew how to deliver the most touching good byes."

He took off his hoodie and put it over Kagome's shoulders, "I'll see you later," he repeated after zipping it up. He headed, then, out the door of the den and made his way to the room he had been situated in during his impromptu stay. 'I just hope she cooled down. It'll be quite the bitch if I pack all my shit for nothing…'

Kagome watched him leave as she slunk down into the loveseat.

As she plopped down, her hand hit a something hard.

The raven haired girl cradled her hand briefly in response to the sharp pain. However as it quickly ebbed away, she slid her hand within the folds of the couch to see what had been the cause.

With confusion, Kagome dug out a silver picture frame. She unconsciously began mouthing a name.

_Kikyou_

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**(Tsuki)**

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Kikyou awoke with a start.

The room was pitch black and groggily she moved to sit up. 'I could have sworn someone…' She mentally trailed off, in favor of finishing the sentence incredulously out loud, "Called my name."

But no. That was impossible.

She was alone. After all, Inuyasha had left.

And she had not had the courage to apologize ask him to come back home that Monday with Suikotsu.

Not only had she made up some excuse as to why the two of them could not see her roommate then, she was even planning on skipping breakfast with Suikotsu this morning.

She grimaced as she rubbed her eyes to clear her vision. When she opened them again, she noticed with a slight twinge of shock that she wasn't in her own room. Unless of course she had redecorated in her sleep, the room definitely wasn't hers.

Kikyou's vision suddenly swam under the plethora of red and one blink was enough to alert her that she had begun crying.

A surprised hand moved to her now tear-streaked cheek.

She vaguely noted the time and that she had woken later than the normal hour she usual greeted the morning at.

Kikyou slowly got off the bed and headed towards her own room, feeling a bit suffocated. There, she threw on a large green knit sweater and slipped into a pair of shoes not caring that the sweater's lime color looked borderline heinous over the orange colored night dress and the black boots that seemed to be the only footwear she could find. She threw her hair up in a quick ponytail and grabbed cab money before rushing out of the apartment.

She heard herself murmur an address to the cab driver and soon found herself in front of a house she had visited many a times during her adolescence.

Kikyou shakily stepped out of the cab, paying him the sum in her hands, idly wondering why she had come to this house of all places. She waved off the change the driver produced and with a wry smile she slowly headed towards the front door.

'I doubt he would be awake now…' She smacked her head lightly, "Just what the hell am I doing?"

She turned around and started back down the walk way, just as the door opened.

"…Kikyou?"

The raven haired woman went still. After a second she turned back around. She could not suppress the small smile that now played across her lips. "Inuyasha."

He was standing in the middle of the doorway, rubbing the back of head sheepishly, "You look like shit."

With a laugh Kikyou broke the distance between them and rushed into his arms. Inuyasha let go of his suitcase as he haphazardly caught her.

He reprimanded her gently as he steadied himself under her weight, "Crazy girl! Do you realize what time it is? What are you doing here anyway?"

Kikyou hugged him tightly, "I don't know…"

He huffed as he shifted the two of them so that he could close the front door. He got a better look at her and immediately wished that he had left the door open. "And you're basically in your pajamas no less. I'm starting to think all girls just are born not to be health conscious," he grumbled sarcastically.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha."

"Yeah, yeah, you were wrong, you're sorry, and I forgive you. So let's just skip to me making you breakfast, 'cause you feel a hell of a lot lighter, Kikyou."

"Please let me finish my apology, Inuyasha, or I'll never stop feeling guilty," she breathed out. Inuyasha shook his head at her, but let her continue. The raven haired girl released him and ran a hand through her hair, "I'm sorry I misunderstood the situation between you with Mirouku. I honestly don't know what was running through my head. I never should have snapped at you because without you, I can't even function anymore…"

Inuyasha felt his heart skip a beat for some reason. With a nervous chuckle, he picked up his suitcase and headed back towards the front door, "What did I just say? You were already forgiven," he murmured somewhat gruffly.

"Now let's go."

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**(Tsuki)**

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"_Mistress-sama, it's time for your studies. Please follow me."_

_The blue eyed child looked up at the tall, raven haired woman. Her pristine skin seemed to glow beneath the slivers of sunlight that broke through the canopy of the gardens yet cool, chocolate eyes stared back at her._

_She was a pride of the immortal realm. Her strength was well noted, but no more so than her passion for knowledge. She had a love for mortal history and medicine like no other _

_Kagome nodded a bit and commenced to follow the stoic woman. After a moment she paused. Her guardian stopped walking as well. "…Are you unhappy to be within my company?"_

"_Whether I am unhappy or not that has nothing to do with the fact that I promised to do your father a favor."_

_Kagome gingerly took her hand, "If you are unhappy, then I will be unhappy too."_

_The woman sighed and stiffly took back her stolen appendage, "Nonsense…Emotions do not work like that."_

_Kagome shook her head in disagreement, "But they do! It would make me sad to know that I am the cause for your unhappiness. I cannot be happy know that I rob you of happiness."_

_With a resigned sigh she admitted, "You do not make me unhappy, mistress."_

_Shock spread onto the younger girl's features, "I don't?"_

_A curt nod greeted the question, "Such surprise is unnecessary, mistress…It has been a rather interesting few months and I have somewhat enjoyed them. However, I am not used to such affections. Especially not from someone I serve. In this manor I am beneath you."_

_Kagome again shook her head, appalled at the thought, "But you don't serve me and papa and I never thought either of you beneath us!" She looked down at her feet, "You and Inuyasha are the only friends I have besides papa. The villagers age so quickly that every time I return, it is like," she closed her eyes, "…like we have to start over again as perfect strangers." Her tone saddened and for a second time she clasped the woman's hands, "May I see us as friends?"_

_And for the first time since Kagome had met the woman, she smiled. It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. "I suppose there would be no harm in it. You may."_

_Kagome giggled and in a fit of joy, embraced the woman._

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**(Tsuki)**

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Blue eyes met amber once Inuyasha rang the doorbell. The azure orbs swam with excitement, "You have returned!"

She clasped her hands together and tightly embraced him.

Kikyou raised a brow as soon as she heard a female voice. A raven haired girl, of average height, if she was guessing her age correctly, with oddly colored eyes. What shocked her though, was that Inuyasha freely embraced her and even went as far as to ruffle her hair, "Run inside, princess. I thought I told you to change your clothes."

As the girl stepped aside, never relinquishing hold of the man, she suddenly caught sight of Kikyou.

Kikyou looked on in confusion as the girl paused before extending a hand towards the woman.

"…Hello," Kikyou murmured, slowly reach to grasp the extended hand, wondering if the girl intended to shake hands.

But she didn't.

Rather she pulled Kikyou into a tight embrace, "You are someone that I have dreamt of… I know you… _Chère protectrice _!"

Kikyou felt her head swim at the affectionate utterance.

It reminded her…

It reminded her of something she had heard before….

"_You seem to love French the most, mistress …Why is that?"_

"_Kikyou! You said it again! That's the third time this week! Remember, please call me Kagome."_

"_My apologies…Habits are hard to break, I suppose… Kagome-chan. Now answer my question." She smiled a bit, "I am rather curious."_

"_I only really use it when talking about you, Kikyou… French is one of the most beautiful things that I have heard, yet it is complicated and sometimes hard to understand. To me, it is like you, Protectrice…"_

"_I suppose I can say the same thing about you, little one." She laughed a bit, and in a slightly uncharacteristic move, she spontaneously requested, "Teach me how to say, 'mistress,' in French. If you can get away with calling me by my title, you certainly must allow me to call you by yours."_

_Kagome giggled. "Deal!" She closed her eyes and tried to remember the words that her father had taught her… "So you will be __ma chère protectrice, et moi…je suis ta chère__—"_

Kikyou furrowed her brows and the word suddenly fell off her tongue, "_Maitresse__._"

Inuyasha looked alarmed. He looked between the two. One was utterly confused, the other seemingly content, whether she understood why or not.

But if he was guessing correctly.

Inuyasha felt a spasm of nausea… If he was guessing correctly, then Kikyou was the other guardian.

Did that mean that…?

Once upon a time…

Inuyasha's eyes widened.

Had he loved her?

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**(Tsuki)**

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Turquoise eyes shot open and a red haired boy shot out of bed, feeling excited. "She's awake!"

He chuckled quietly, "She always seemed like she would be the most stubborn one, but she's basically ahead of the game."

Shippou hurriedly dressed, "This has to be a sign of some sorts…!"

His door suddenly creaked open and the red head froze, biting his tongue to keep from letting out a surprised yell, "So you can feel it, huh, Shippou? Every time one of us awakens…"

Shippou whirled around to see Mirouku.

He looked a bit troubled and had dark rings under his eyes as if he hadn't slept. Shippou smirked a bit hoping to keep an upper hand in the situation, "So you've finally decided to stop playing dumb, Mirouku? Are you ready to tell me now, how much have you remember?"

This encounter was inevitable. During his guardianship, he had been one who had had the potent gift of an oracle. There was no doubt in Shippou's mind that with every passing second, more and more of his abilities were returning.

And the Mirouku of that era, never would have ignored all of these signs. Neither would he have waited this long to say something.

The raven haired man quietly spoke and Shippou vaguely noted a slight quiver to his voice, "In a week's time, I will have memory of everything. And you?"

"I never lost any of it…I think that was my punishment for taking my own life."

Mirouku turned away. "…That must have been difficult."

"It gets easier… And now I think will be the final time—"

"I never thought that…" Mirouku interrupted suddenly and he placed two firm hands on Shippou's shoulders, "I saw those children growing up and falling in love with each other! They were not destined to die by that bastard's filthy hands as they did, Shippou. They have returned onto their path, and I would not be able to bear it if that happens a second time!" Abruptly Shippou knew what had been keeping the man up all night. He had seen something he probably shouldn't have. The death of his son…

Shippou sighed, "That won't happen a second time…"

"But what I am seeing—it must have some bearing on the future, or else I would not see it! Why do you think I have been acting so oblivious?! Should we be pushing this?"

"What you see in the past will have no reflection on the future…Kagome's presence is simply awakening the past. They are because of her powers, not yours." Shippou sadly murmured, "So in those regards, we have no choice. Kirei set things into motion for a reason. He loved her more than any of us ever could. Do you think he would force her through any more?"

Mirouku leaned against the younger man, trying to rationalize, "I cannot see her losing my grandchild, but I probably am not strong enough yet to see that far into the future."

Shippou sighed, "She won't lose the baby Mirouku… Kagome won't meet you, me, or Sango until the shower. And even then, there's no guarantee that she'll remember us. She basically seems to be remembering things in the order that they happened." He grimaced, "So she has to meet all of the mercenaries first."

"What makes you think that Naraku won't act before then?"

"Naraku knows that she's awake, but you can trust that he won't make a move until_ he_ remembers everything. And from what I can tell, he going at a slower pace than any of the others. After all…he's just a reincarnation as well."

Mirouku froze, "What do you mean? I knew nothing of his death…"

"Demons are not called immortals for a reason, Mirouku."

"He died of natural causes," came an incredulous and disgusted inquiry.

"Thankfully no…" Shippou's eyes flashed, "He had promised the demons that possessed him, 'time' with my mother, once she was captured. He never expected that his own spell would backfire on him. So they devoured him, from the inside out. Such thing would not be possible for an immortal, as you know."

"Well, even that sounds too good for him…"

Shippou rubbed his temples, "So what are you planning on doing?"

Mirouku moved towards the window. He pushed away the thick black curtains and took a glance outside. It was a still dark out.

"Sango won't be up for another hour and I don't have work for awhile either. Did you have any plans?"

Shippou shook his head, suddenly a bit sheepish, "I hadn't really figured anything out. I was probably headed to the Goshinboku out of habit though."

Mirouku pulled a chair from a desk that had been in the corner of the room, with a nod at Shippou, "I have been piecing things together from visions alone. Kirei for the most part has refused to supplement any of my theories. You actually remember every, if not all the details, though."

Shippou took the hint and plopped back down on his bed. "Well…I suggest you get comfortable…."

-

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**(Tsuki)**

A.N. I'm such a sickie –frowny face- I caught my third cold since the beginning of the school year and I'm running low on Dayquil. So next update date is iffy. I'm having lotsa issues as you all can see, heh.

R&**R**


	11. Chapter 11

A.N. Okay so this begins with Shippou telling Mirouku everything that basically happened to get to where they are now in the present. Hope it's more enjoyable than confusing lol.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything related to Inuyasha.

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**(Tsuki)**

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**Shi no Kirei**

_Chapter Eleven_

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(Tsuki)

"Kagome was born in a village near what we now know to be Edo to a human woman, and longtime wife of Kirei.

Kirei, was lifetimes old and perhaps restless. After all who wouldn't be if they lived in the same place for that long? So against the wishes of those who bore him, he left the realm that he had once called home and ventured to ours, during that 'once upon a time' before demon extinction.

The story of him and his wife is something he only really spoke about to Kagome. She in turn, although she loved her mother, did not bring her up.

Mortally is a painful thing for those gifted without it.

But Kagome was the happiest thing, beside his marriage, to ever happen to Kirei. She had a lifetime more suitable to his, and she was all that he could wish for in a daughter. After the jail catastrophe, he instated Inuyasha and Kikyou. Inuyasha was known for his strength and Kikyou for her intelligence. They started as guardians, unexpectedly acted as tutors, and soon became her friends.

Perhaps all three of them underestimated Naraku back then. Or maybe they gave themselves too much credit.

Most immortals looked down on youkai. We—or rather _they_, seeing as I am human in this lifetime—were considered to be a step up from humans in strength, but a step down in competency and civility. So youkai probably had a bit of an inferiority complex.

Before Naraku, none of them ever would have dared to touch an immortal, let alone take one of their lives. But once he accomplished what seemed to be the impossible, it was definitely he, would condemned both races to certain extinction.

Almost a decade or so after Inuyasha and Kikyou, came you and Sango. You both had been married then, as well. I must admit though, you never had a reputation that commanded anything but respect in those days. It was a wonder that Sango even accepted your proposal in this era…

But I digress…Then, you were an equivalent of godparents to the girl. Your role in her life, though, was only that innocent on the surface.

Before you officially became guardians, Naraku had revived a band of executed mercenaries. He had attempted to use them to kidnap Kagome, shortly before your arrival.

Then, Inuyasha and Kikyou had been more than enough to return the seven back to their graves. It is in retrospect, once I had seen the mercenaries in action in various lives, though, that I can see that it had not been strength alone that had defeated them. They had been a group divided in interests. One was infatuated with Inuyasha, another partially in love with Kikyou, another was obsessed with overthrowing the leader—the list of conflicts was endless.

That victory probably fueled Inuyasha's, and perhaps even Kikyou's, egos though. The mercenaries had a reputation also. But Kirei had been wise to bring you two in. You were a well known dual after all. An oracle and notorious demon exterminator. Combined, you were the perfect hunters.

Or at least you thought so. A demon's most important feature is the animal it has extended from. Naraku… is unique. He's not one specific species. As a mix of all the most unscrupulous creatures, even you two stood no chance.

Craft was Naraku's strongest point, and at that point no one knew that you were unable to see into Kagome's future.

So Kirei's foresight ended there. He foolishly believed that Naraku was nothing without that band of seven. You never had anything negative to report about Kagome's future either since you weren't seeing anything. In result, Kirei allowed Kagome to freely traverse, albeit with Inuyasha or other company, to the human village.

I was the first demon she ever saw. Because I myself recalled nothing of my life prior to her finding me, I can tell you nothing now. I assume that I was orphaned since I always am when reincarnated. But that was the state of many youkai kits back then. Demons were pretty oppressed creatures.

Neither revered by humans like immortals, nor tolerated or protected by immortals like humans. Demons simply floated in a middle ground of pure loathing and condemned as beasts.

I considered myself lucky then to be found by that woman who took me in as her own child, when another would have finished me or left me to die.

I found it funny sometimes, how separately the races treated demons as monsters, but when combined in that girl, there was simply compassion.

Inuyasha had been a bit reluctant, out of worry that Kirei would be mad, but he had been nearly as helpful in getting me aid as my mother. Yet apparently his attitude in treating me, was something unconventional for him. Sango would later tell me rumors about how cruel Inuyasha had once been rumored to be, prior to his guardianship and how he was nothing like she expected. If that stubborn immortal learned anything from his time with that girl, it was how to love.

Speaking of love, it was shortly after finding me, that she found my father. I had been a bit older then, and Kirei had entrusted me with Kagome for the day. He was again doing foolish things.

Ironically, in the same place that she had met the man that would become Naraku, she then met her first and only love.

Dressed in royal garbs, father had been resting against a tree, surrounded by the scent of blood. Being the naïve, though compassionate being that she was, mother had rushed to his assistance.

After all how was she to know that none of the blood was his? Even I had yet to differentiate between the smell of human and demon blood.

As Kagome had prodded his form for wounds, she had murmured, in awe, 'I had never thought that I would meet someone more beautiful than my father.'

I probably should have been more alert to know that he was awake the entire time, but again, I was a child then. And of course I am glad that mother did meet my surrogate father—he was someone I truly came to respect, if not feel my own affection for.

But back then, I never would have known any of that, considering how terribly his first meeting went with momma.

'This man does not seem to be injured…Yet this blood looks so fresh.' Abruptly pale magenta coated lids snapped open to reveal cold amber eyes.

'Have you truly not yet realized what I am, child?' He asked with a noticeably twitch of disgust, 'I would have gladly spared you if you and your kit had simply left my person alone. This inundation of chatter, your human reek—it has been intolerable.'

I was half scared out of my mind…But somehow in between what I was feeling I recognized then the court symbol that he adorned.

'A Taiyoukai', I remember thinking with hopelessness. He was either the son of one or directly the ruler of lands. It's hard to tell age when it comes to demons and immortals.

However, Kagome had taken over the situation calmly, "…I believe you are mistaken."

He had narrowed his eyes, that cocky idiot, offended that someone had dared accused him of being fallible.

'All that blood…You would have certainly done away with us if we were past tolerance.' She smiled, 'By now you have sensed the other half of the heritage that composes my blood. No, you would not injure either of us.'

He had laughed then. It had been a cruel sound as he snatched her hand in his clawed hand unmindful of said claws. 'Immortals conduct themselves with such superiority.' He looked at the appendage. 'How can you be so sure that I would not allow myself to rid the world of another useless nuisance? I would even spare your kit just for reasons of allowing him to contact your family.'

I had yelled out some protest and told Kagome to run, but she simply continued to look at him. After a moment she then laid her head on her captured appendage, 'Tell me, who did you kill?'

Something about that had thrown him off guard. He broke contact with her as if he had been burned. 'It is none of your concern. Leave, girl.'

Kagome had stood then, taken me in her arms and I had been hopeful that we would be going.

Yet she lingered.

'May I befriend you?'

Another scoff and he smoothly rose to his feet. 'I will not repeat myself.' As an educated member of royalty, he knew the consequences her assassination would bring. Yet, by the coats of blood that adorned his garbs, I knew what little restraint he had over his bloodlust was ebbing away.

Kagome gave him one last look and left.

It could have gone worse, yes, but his 'if I see you again, I'll kill you' demeanor didn't really make him look like soul-mate material.

Yet when they finally did see each other again, it was without accompaniment. Neither Inuyasha nor I were present. Kagome had run away after hearing word of the passing of a villager she had been fond of. This was almost a year after her initial meeting with him.

Perhaps you remember this, but the five of us had been in search for three days before Kagome had been found by Inuyasha in the Western lands. Kirei had stayed at the house in hopes that she would head there.

But she had been drawn to the western lands. She told me afterwards that she had taken to the forest and drifted there.

Again she found my father, though this time in a position of mourning. She had been drawn to his sadness and said she found him as impassive as ever.

And they simply spoke.

She said their conversation had been on everything and anything, except of course, the main reason why my father and mother had been in that forest to begin with.

During their years of intimacy he would admit that his presence there was caused by the death of an illness struck mentor. In his youth, father had been fond of only a handful of people, Kagome being one of them by their third meeting, so he took loss relatively hard.

I had been incredulous when Kagome came back and said that she had spent three days speaking to father of course, but now, it's more understandable. One thing that guy doesn't know how to deal with, though, is loss. It was that camaraderie that undoubtedly brought the two together.

However both times since he had mother there, he dealt a little easier through it. Kagome was also cleared of her sadness once she returned, so Kirei agreed to let her see father whenever she desired.

I would usually be the one to accompany them, so I know a little more first hand, how they got closer, but it was kind of just like an instant clicking.

They were so opposite each other yet so alike, it was odd to see.

But unfortunately, Naraku found out about that growing bond. The amount of times Kagome went to meet father was too many to go beyond notice.

So he moved to more drastic measures by the time they could be deemed lovers.

During their wedding ceremony in the Western Lands, he massacred all the guards, before he reached you and Sango. It was before the ceremony had begun and you both had wanted to take a quick walk to secure the perimeter as a 'just in case' measure.

That was when the two of you found Naraku making his way through the Western palace. You probably had been caught off guard by the fact that you hadn't seen Kagome's wedding ending in disaster. However, you both had managed to him from reaching Kagome, but it at the cost of both your lives. He suffered injuries that were too great for him to continue on against Kikyou, Inuyasha, and Kirei, but you two perished.

Father was actually the first person to suggest that mother leave the Earthen realm. He wanted to lead his father's army to search and destroy Naraku while you were safe, but it didn't take an oracle to realize that would have ended in his death.

Kagome opposed any oppositional measures because she said that she would not have been able to cope with another death. Besides that, she was terribly against being separated from her husband.

Her marriage was short lived anyway though. Once Naraku was healthy again he slaughtered father's parents and completely devastated the Western Lands.

Father was torn between returning to his homelands and fulfilling his position as heir and staying in Kirei's home. Kirei suggested he at least return to set up a provisional government, as he was his parents' only son. Inuyasha went with Sesshoumaru to do that and when they returned a week later, Sesshoumaru had taken completely ill.

It was not even two weeks after that, that Naraku made his final attack and imprisoned Kagome.

If you don't mind….I'd rather not go into all the details of that…"

-

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(Tsuki)

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"Oh my fucking God." Inuyasha slammed his cell phone shut. "If it's not one thing it's some other fucking disaster." He tossed the bearer of bad news onto the counter as he fumed.

Kikyou and Kagome sat at the kitchen table in confusion as Inuyasha paced back and forth through the room.

First Kikyou showed up, which wasn't at all a bad thing, until of course, Kagome had to out-of-the-blue recognize the woman as _his_ old flame from back in the day. Then in the midst of breakfast his work phone rang and his asshole boss decided to chew him out.

He looked at both girls abruptly, "Never date your boss. I don't care what people say. It gets weird regardless."

Kikyou laughed a bit, "What wrong now, Inuyasha?"

"Those two assholes from that new morning drama canceled on tomorrow's photo-shoot. I need to find a replacement ASAP, because apparently, it's all _my_ fault." He rolled his eyes sarcastically, "Fucking Jakotsu. That's why I dumped that prick. Living with Sesshoumaru all these years has given me heightened asshole awareness."

Sesshoumaru walked into the room with raised eyebrows and snorted, "Out of curiosity, did you sense that coming."

Inuyasha waved him off and handed him a plate of food, "When do I ever not insult you to your face?"

The dark haired male snorted and poured himself a cup of coffee before grabbing the proffered plate with a nodded 'thank you'. As he did, his gaze fell on Kikyou. He glanced at Inuyasha. "I see you are finally able to go home."

Kikyou murmured a morning greeting, which Sesshoumaru returned before addressing Kagome, "If you are able to dress yourself properly, by all means do so. You will be departing with me when I leave for work. Kouga needs you to come in this afternoon."

Inuyasha grimaced, "You leave her alone with that moron? He gives off pretty fucked up vibes himself."

Kikyou sighed, "You really need to cut down on the cursing, Inuyasha."

Sesshoumaru scoffed, "Impossible."

Inuyasha suddenly stared at Sesshoumaru and said slowly, "You know…you're not that awful looking…" He glanced at Kagome ignoring the look that the dark haired male was now giving him, "And with a little work, princess is very presentable…."

He laughed and grabbed his phone, "Shall we go, Kikyou? You have work soon and I need to be on my way," he winked at her and Kikyou instantly got a sense of what the male was thinking.

She looked at Sesshoumaru and could not help the giggle that escaped her throat. She piled her and Inuyasha's plates together and after clearing them off, she brought them to the sink, "I'll just take care of these, and once you call a cab I'll be all set." She turned around to address Kagome. She was trying to pretend that she had not felt some familiar connection to the girl and that had not spoken to her in a language that she had never learned. "Are you done there, Kagome?"

Kagome had barely touched her food and had been very quiet, since seeing Kikyou. "I—"

Inuyasha answered before the girl could. He looked at Kagome then Kikyou, "She won't be done until she's finished everything on that plate. I won't have her pulling a _you_ and not eat as soon I turn my back." He dialed in the cab company's number.

Kikyou flushed as she washed her dishes, "I did too eat, for your information." Under her breath she murmured, "I just didn't eat much."

Sesshoumaru took a seat at the table with a newspaper and skimmed the headlines before deciding on an article.

After Inuyasha finished calling the cab, he turned his attention to Sesshoumaru again, "Hey, Sess, have you ever thought of doing anything with your hair?"

"As often as you think of doing anything with Kouga."

Inuyasha looked appalled, "You're that boring? I mean I can't even count on my hands how often I mentally experiment with my amazing locks every day. I was thinking of doing something with red—"

Kikyou smiled softly, "Alright, Inuyasha, let's leave Sesshoumaru alone and wait in the living room."

Kagome said a soft good bye to the two and turned her attention back to making attempts to eat her breakfast.

Sesshoumaru placed the newspaper down after a moment and inquired, "What now?"

Kagome looked at the male and smile slightly, "What do you mean?"

Sesshoumaru drawled with a raised brow, "Your lack of appetite does not seem to be a good sign. Besides," he added with a scoff, "you're not known for your silence."

Azure eyes glistened with moisture, "I… I am saddened by something."

Amber eyes rolled heavenward in response, "Saddened?"

Kagome blinked away tears, "I feel as if nothing is correct. Everything is wrong, Sesshoumaru. Yet," she added slowly, "I don't know specifically what it is. I just feel as if my existence has been wronged."

Sesshoumaru suddenly became attentive. "Your existence?"

"And yours," she admittedly softly.

A frown marred the other man's face and he stared at her for a moment. Silence filled the air for a moment before he demanded, "Tell me what you mean."

Kagome ran a hand through her hair, "I do not know."

She stood and gingerly made her way towards him. Sesshoumaru stiffened as she slunk onto his lap and hugged his neck.

What made him uncomfortable, was not the girl he was now forced to cradle in his lap. That was far from it…

What made him uncomfortable was his body's traitorous sense of her belonging there….

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(Tsuki)

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"I think we should head back there for dinner. How 'bout you Kik?"

"Inuyasha, I've been ignoring this subject long enough, but that perhaps isn't the wisest thing to do. Who is that girl?" Her brows knit together, "She clearly knew who I was and I—well I am almost positive that I knew her. Yet that has me confused. I have never met her before today. I would know if I had…"

Inuyasha leaned back in the seat of the taxi. "She's a friend of dad's, so you probably saw her picture back when I lived at home. She's staying with Sess now though, for a bit 'cause of some financial trouble she's in."

Kikyou rubbed her temples, "Something really makes me want to call bullshit on that, Inuyasha."

Said persona raised a brow. He wasn't sure what was more shocking. The fact that Kikyou didn't believe such a well constructed story or that _Kikyou_ uttered a word that by definition was a profanity. He blinked and decided to go with the latter. "Bullshit?"

"Please respect our friendship enough to tell me the truth…"

"Kikyou…what do you want to me so suddenly admit to? That she's actually centuries old and appeared out of thin air?" He looked at her and the girl flushed. Truthfully, even Sesshoumaru didn't even know the story behind where Kagome came from, so how would he? All he knew was that he wanted to drop the subject. He didn't want to be reminded of the fact that they could have shared a romantic history together. That just didn't seem right to him.

And he didn't want it to…

It didn't make sense.

The platinum blonde put an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder, "Now how about dinner?"

-

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(Tsuki)

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A tall brunette giggled suddenly, "My boys have been getting alone so well lately," her laughs subsided into a grin, "What do I owe that to?"

Two men and one woman were seating on a blanket beneath a formidable tree entitled, the Goshinboku. Remnants of a wholesome picnic were scattered at the foot of the blanket, in homage to their after work unwinding. Sango, the brunette, was between the boys, dressed in a lengthy pastel sundress, leaned against her husband languidly.

"Magic, my love," came a charismatic and appealing voice. He kissed Sango's hand gently.

A redhead snorted in response, "That's not even remotely funny, Mirouku."

Mirouku chuckled, "What good is life if you cannot learn to laugh things off, Shippou?"

"Was I wrong? Are you guys, just trying to put up a friendly front," Sango pouted unhappily.

Shippou gently smacked the back of her head, "Idiot! I like it here. I'm glad that you let me stay with you." He absentmindedly played with the hem of his button up shirt, "Mirouku and I are as close as you think. Maybe even closer," he shrugged.

Sango smiled and planted a kiss on both of their foreheads, "Good. I couldn't ask for more, then."

Mirouku suddenly groaned. "Are we visiting Kohaku-kun today love?"

"Yup," she chirped, "Later after dinner. Rin is on official house arrest as stated by my dear over-protective brother. I thought I might as well give her company."

Shippou laughed, "Those two turned out more perfect than I could ever imagine." Sango raised a confused brow but smiled nonetheless, because it was undeniably true. Kohaku had never really loved a female outside of his family until Rin.

Meeting Rin had just been something perfect from the start.

Two people absolutely meant for each other.

She looked at Mirouku.

_Absolutely meant for each other._

It was something mystifying.

But wonderful.

Mirouku ran his fingers through his wife's hair, "Fate is a crazy thing."

-

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(Tsuki)

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Two figures clothed in black exited a taxi in front of a dark residence. It was three o'clock in the morning and nearly the peek of night. They wanted to capitalize on the growing darkness before the sun rose.

As soon as the out of place toned vehicle was out of sight, the two placed on masks that matched their black turtle necks and dark pants of choice.

One wore a slimming pair of black jeans and the other wore black tights. The tights wearing form, a slimmer, more petite version of the male suddenly ripped her mask off. Raven hair cascaded down.

"This is ridiculous! I must have lost my sanity to have humored you this long, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha took off his mask, "Kikyouuuu…you promised! I could lose my job if I don't do this!"

Kikyou looked incredulous, "What makes you think that that man will sit back and let you massacre his hair??"

Inuyasha grinned evilly, "The fact that I put enough sleeping pills in his food to knock out a fucking elephant…"

The raven haired girl shook her head, "I get now why Suikotsu worries about me when I'm with you…"

"Feh, of course he worries… He's boring and boring guys are intimidated by the sexy and exciting."

Kikyou smacked him with her mask. "Just get your key out."

Inuyasha blinked, "Shit, Kikyou…"

"My God! Tell me you at least have some legal way of getting into his home."

The male grinned, "That all depends on whether or not Sesshoumaru locks his front doors."

Inuyasha was unofficially disowned by his parents when he 'came out'. So he found something to devote attention to as a way of coping. He had worked his way up with the magazine for years and the job was one of his only passions.

Kikyou sometimes understood his over the top approaches and his strives toward perfection and recognition. His ability to lose himself in his work allowed him to forget the parents he didn't have anymore…the people who were cruel to him….

His work was a reflection of himself.

It was beautiful and it was different.

Kikyou smiled softly, "Okay, then. Get us inside and I'll do the rest."

Inuyasha showed surprise for a moment before he grinned and pulled out a very thin metal screw driver and a pick.

He got to work on the front door and Kikyou pulled out the bleaching dyes that had been tucked into a satchel that hung loosely over her shoulder.

She started mixing different bottles to preoccupy herself as Inuyasha picked the lock of the front door.

Approximately five minutes and twenty five seconds later, they were inside.

Inuyasha and Kikyou closed the door behind themselves and Kikyou followed her male partner in crime upstairs to where Sesshoumaru's room was located.

They were for the most part silent as they opened the door and snuck into the room. Inuyasha looked at Kikyou, "What do you need?"

"Get me three buckets of water and aluminum foil. We can't bring him to the shower, so we'll settle with what we have right here."

Inuyasha nodded and was off.

Kikyou cast a guilty look at the unnaturally sleeping form, "I suppose I should begin with an apology." She sucked in a breath. "Sorry, Sesshoumaru."

She took a bottle from her bag and squeezed it onto his dark locks.

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(Tsuki)

A.N. This was an odd place to end the chappie, but I thought it was a fun place to leave off. Next chapter is filled with some interesting stuff though that makes up for the lag in pace and there is—dare I say it—romance!

Yep next chapter gets _weird._

Review! : )


	12. Chapter 12

A.N. I like this chappie the most so far. It was hard to write for though. I knew how I wanted it to end but getting there was quite the journey. I went crazy for hours just staring at half-sentences thinking, 'How can I end you!!' So enjoy the fruit of my labor.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything related to Inuyasha.

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**(Tsuki)**

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**Shi no Kirei**

_Chapter Twelve_

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(Tsuki)

The benefits of working so long with the same team of assistants: they didn't ask any questions when you called them in to work at five o'clock in the morning and subsequently dragged an unconscious body in half an hour later.

"Alright people! We're going through with next issue's cover shot. I need cameras set up, clothes out, and backdrop down. These are the two were working with," he guestured towards Sesshoumaru who had yet to wake up and towards a half awake Kagome, who was draped in one of Sesshoumaru's jackets. "So set up accordingly."

He received several verbal responses, but everyone in the dozen member team was scurrying about doing something.

Inuyasha looked at Kagome and waved her over, "Stay close, princess." He then dragged Sesshoumaru over to a bench near Kikyou and patted his towel covered head, "Can you take care of cutting and drying this? I need it cut it close on the sides and backs. Scissors only," He was hurriedly pulling things out of a duffel bag he had picked up from his desk on their way towards the gallery.

Kikyou smiled, "Consider it done." After Inuyasha had left, she looked at the clock posted in the gallery and let out a slight sigh. "I guess I won't be joining Suikotsu today, either." She pulled out her cell phone and sent him a text that she was called in to work.

She didn't know what was worse, the fact that she was cancelling through a text or the fact that she didn't feel guilty about either. She ran a hand through her hair. Everytimne she was with Inuyasha, it was always like everyone else came second in priority.

It was now only a matter of time before she broke up with Suikotsu.

She closed her eyes.

Why was it that she didn't feel any remorse? She dug into Inuyasha's duffel bag and looked for a pair of scissors and a blow dryer. While she was there, she took out a heat-damage reducing mostirizing cream and a comb.

Suikotsu wasn't even the first _tier_ on her list of concerns. Anything that was truly bothering her had absolutely nothing to do with the pediatritian. In fact, the main things that were actually bothering her could be found in that octagonal room.

Inuyasha and….

She looked across the room at Kagome as she plugged in the blow dryer.

The girl was seated in a chair as Inuyasha applied various make up products on her face. A woman was gluing on black pre-manicured acrylic nails and one of the male assistant had taken over fixing her hair.

Who was that girl?

In the depths of her soul, Kikyou knew she loved that girl in the way that a parent loves their child…in the way that sisters love one another….

It was as if they were deeply connected—something which had to be impossible.

She combed through Sesshoumaru's hair with a fine tooth comb that prior to her use inhabited a jar of barbercide. As she trimmed, she tried to keep her thoughts off of both Kagome and Inuyasha.

The longer her fingers worked to dry and style bleached locks, though, the more and more impossible she found it. By the time she had gelled and sprayed Sesshoumaru's hair with hair spray, her head was swimming.

She sucked in a breath and moved over to Inuyasha. By this time he was finished with Kagome's make up and was working on picking Sesshoumaru's clothes. He instantly took note of her presence and gave her a boyish grin, "This is looking promising—what do you think, Kik?"

The raven haired woman breathlessly nodded and after clearing her throat she asked in a composed tone, "Is there anything I can help with?"

Inuyasha stopped applying comparing ties and placed a hand on Kikyou's shoulder. He directed her towards one of the doors leaving the room, "I requested five dresses be sent up here for the shoot. There still on my desk. Pick one and bring it here."

Kikyou gave one last look and returned his smile. In a semi-joking voice she questioned, "And you'll be fine with what I pick?"

Inuyasha snorted, "Would I send you otherwise? I trust you, Kikyou." With a playful roll of his eyes at her question, he returned to work.

The raven haired girl suddenly lost her smile as she turned to exit.

She could feel a betraying emotion creep up inside her lately.

And a part of her was afraid to even begin to decipher what it could possibly be.

-

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(Tsuki)

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Amber eyes snapped open around seven that morning. Inuyasha was quick to note the awakening and was thankful his brother decided to join them _after_ he had been stripped of his pajamas and then redressed in the outfit of Inuyasha's choice. If he had woken up during, well, that would have been a tad bit awkward. The younger sibling grinned, "Mornin,' Sleeping Beauty! Glad you finally decided to wake up! I was worried we'd fall behind schedule."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as he looked around the unfamiliar settings, "Where am I?"

He quickly rose to his feet and made his way towards his younger sibling. "I will not repeat myself, Inuyasha. Answers," he said crisply. A sweeping glance down told him that his attire had sharply changed. He was dressed in a fitted black pinstripe suit with an oceanic blue tie. The tie was concealed partially by the fact that the suit top was buttoned in the middle.

The change of clothes did nothing to appease the older Taisho. Inuyasha tried to remain calm despite the growing fit of rage that had enveloped Sesshoumaru.

"I needed two replacement models and you and Kagome seemed to fit the bill. It was either this, or mooch off you as your newly unemployed brother." Inuyasha tried a touch of humor to lighten the mood.

It failed to work.

His brother's eyes narrowed nearly to slits. "And you had to drug me to get me to cooperate?"

Inuyasha inwardly cringed. Sesshoumaru's voice had become eerily calm. It was icy still, but there was no real hint of anger. Unless of course, you knew him… Inuyasha resisted the urge to break his gaze and with complete composure he managed to retort, "Yes."

Sesshoumaru scowled deeply after a minute of staring down Inuyasha, "You irk me, I hope you know that…"

"Yeah, I'm starting to get a hint of that."

Kikyou abruptly joined the conversation. With a slight smile at Sesshoumaru, she commented, "I have to say, Inuyasha, you've outdone yourself with this project. I'm impressed."

The blonde grinned, "Glad to know. How's the princess? She all dressed?"

His question was met with a nod, but the raven haired girl added. "She's still getting her hair done. You have a lost of perfectionists on your hands." She laughed when Inuyasha gave her a 'don't I know it' look, "They will be out soon though."

Sesshoumaru looked at the time, "You do understand that I hold a full-time job, correct?"

Inuyasha nodded, "Yeah, yeah. I took that all into account. Now go grab some breakfast. There's coffee and tea… I had bagels brought in. There's fruit… Go have fun."

His older brother cast one last scathing glance at Inuyasha, before making an exit.

Kikyou looked surprised, "I would have sworn that he would have thrown a bigger fit than that."

"Well one: he hasn't seen his hair yet," Inuyasha grinned as he counted off the reasons on his fingers, "two: he's a total pushover without his morning coffee, and _three_: well, let's just say I slipped him a little something to help mellow him out."

Brows rose and the woman deadpanned, "Did you drug your brother or legitimately _drug_ your brother?"

Inuyasha scoffed, "They were both over the counter drugs, Kik. Don't think so low of me."

Kikyou gave him a look and murmured, "Only if you give me reason not too, Inuyasha." She looked across the room at Sesshoumaru, "If only he had a different personality," she abruptly joked.

The platinum blonde looked sharply at her, "Yeah?"

"Well, he certainly wouldn't be the bachelor he is now. The entirety of your family was graced with pretty impressive features and that hair color really brings it out."

"In other words, you're ogling my brother now?"

The doe eyed woman rolled her eyes, "No." She sniffed in afterthought, "And I don't ogle for your information."

"Whatever!"

Kikyou smirked, "I almost want to accuse you of sounding jealous, Inuyasha."

The man crossed his arms in response. With a pouting tone he grunted, "Of course, I'm jealous."

Kikyou felt an unwelcome flutter of her heart. In a low tone she questioned, "What?"

Inuyasha frowned, "You never made that big of a deal when I went blonde…"

The comment was met with a pasted on a smile. Kikyou half heartedly joked, "You took all the fun out of it when you sent me photo-shopped pictures of you as a blonde _in addition_ to having me do your hair."

He gave her a sheepish grin, "I guess that's true." His eyes lit up after a moment, "But speaking of hair," he lifted his bangs, "Aren't I overdue for a touch up?"

Kikyou looked at his hair and furrowed her, "Apparently not. Your roots aren't showing at all, Inuyasha."

"But the other day—"

She patted him on the shoulder and murmured, "It's fine. Let me go check on Kagome."

Inuyasha nodded, "Okay. Tell them that we need to start shooting like," he looked at his wristwatch, "five minutes ago…."

Kikyou smiled slightly and turned to leave.

Inuyasha rose and decided to start the final tasks of setting up.

The backdrop was already set up, but he wanted to make sure that the lighting was just right. The scene would be shot against white like most cover pages, so he needed lighting that would not wash out Sesshoumaru and Kagome's faces.

As it was drawing nearer to the first shot, he was kind of worried. He was going very extreme with this shoot and it was a decision that would either make or break his career under Jakotsu.

It was rare for TV dramas as popular as the one they were covering to go to their magazine with interviews, so he had to do this well.

He scowled, "The bastards didn't make this easy though…" Cancelling on sending the _actual_ actor and actress, really called for some creative improvisation on Inuyasha's part. But with a clever title and the right dress and make up, he was nearly confident he could pull this off. In a louder tone, he called for his brother, "Can I get you set up, Sess? I need to see how you look under this light. Kagome's taking too damn long for me to keep doing nothing."

Sesshoumaru made his way over to the set and in clipped tones asked, "Where should I be standing?"

Inuyasha stood on a platform in front of the backdrop, "Exactly where you see me. Just turn this way," he rotated ninety degrees so that his side faces the shooting equipment. "Cheat out to the cameras a little bit though," he added as he stepped off the platform and let Sesshoumaru replace him.

There was no point in Sesshoumaru not cooperating when he was as tight on time as he was, so he did exactly as told. Inuyasha had to grin. There was no one better than to fill this position than Sesshoumaru.

The guy was a complete pack mule at heart.

Inuyasha smirked. If he ever did this again the next time he probably wouldn't use the sleeping pills….

He looked at the no longer raven haired man and a grimace abruptly replaced his smile.

'Feh, maybe I'll just use a couple less….'

Inuyasha huddled up next to the camera man, "Okay, Kyoshi, what's your suggestion. I'm not liking something about the wash, especially on the hair. It kind of screams 'old' —definitely not what I'm looking for."

Kyoshi, one of the older members on the team, was in his late thirties and had a different hair color seemingly each week. Today he had auburn locks that there partially hidden beneath a baseball cap. He turned said cap so that the visor was behind him, "White is such a hard color to do lighting for, Inuyasha. It's basically the hardest color to light." He rubbed his brows, "I'll try adding a little more violet to the light, but I don't want to make his skin look sickly."

Inuyasha patted him on the back, "Just do what you do best."

Unfortunately for Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, had very impeccable hearing. And the mention of his hair only served to spark suspicion.

"I wonder Inuyasha, would it be too much trouble to see a mirror? I feel my curiosity towards my appearance is rather justified seeing as I was not actually conscious for any of this."

Inuyasha tried to stay composed, his voice quavered slightly though as he tried to laugh, "We're doing lighting, Sess. I'll get you a mirror afterward, okay?"

Sesshoumaru stepped down form the platform, "No. I would rather have it now, if that's all right with you," he added coldly with a knowing tone that had Inuyasha's soul in a vice like grip.

Kikyou abruptly could be heard calling, "They've finally finished, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha mentally said a prayer of thanks before he sharply told Sesshoumaru, "Get back to where I placed you. If you want to be on time for work, hold your vanity off for another forty-five minutes!"

And then Sesshoumaru did something that made Inuyasha's skin crawl.

He smiled.

Inuyasha suppressed a shudder. That man only smiled when he was thinking anything that didn't quite fall under the category of ….pleasant.

In a voice that was squeakier than intended, he called, "We're on set, Kik. Bring her here."

Kikyou stepped into the room, Kagome in hand and a hush fell upon the room. Although out of the dozen team assistants who had started out, five remained, they stopped packing up and moved to the shooting area.

Even Sesshoumaru felt oddly complacent within her presence although it annoyed him somewhere deep in the depths of his mind.

But it was undeniably, however reluctant one was, that Kagome was stunning.

She was dressed in a little black satin dress with a plunging V neck. Around her neck was a lengthy beaded turquoise scarf that added an appealing amount of modesty to the dress. Although the lower half of her body would not actually be within the crop settings of the photo, she was wearing calf length black boots for added height.

Her hair was impossibly straight and her bangs brushed halfway over her blackened eyes. To help intensify her eyes, Inuyasha had amply used black mascara with a touch of black and a turquoise liquid eyeliner that matched Sesshoumaru's tie.

Kagome hesitantly smiled at Inuyasha, "This is pleasing, yes?"

Inuyasha chuckled, "Yeah, princess. Just join Sesshoumaru, up there." He pointed behind her.

Kagome whirled around quickly at the sound of the other man's name. She hesitantly looked up and her heart seemed to race at the sight of him. Kikyou continued to stand by her side to balance her as Kagome shakily walked in the heeled boots.

The blue eyed woman took in a shaky breath.

As soon as she had reached the platform, Kikyou handed her off to Sesshoumaru, "Try and keep her steady, Sesshoumaru. She's isn't at all used to the shoes."

Sesshoumaru took a firm grip of her thin wrist and one hand instinctively went to her waist. He looked into her eyes, "Slowly get up."

He assisted her as she, one foot at a time, joined him on the platform. He would have released her, but Inuyasha called, "Freeze! Kyoshi, take that."

Kagome, zoned out what Inuyasha was saying. In a light voice, she murmured, "Sesshoumaru…?"

"Eh, Kagome?" Inuyasha called, "Freeze, means don't move, okay Princess?"

She lifted a hand and ran it through his hair enticing a groan from Inuyasha. She promptly ignored it, "Why do you look more familiar now?" She smiled. "I feel that I knew you…Just like I knew Inuyasha. But this is different."

"This looks good on camera, Inuyasha, should I just go with it?" Inuyasha waved a dismissive hand, "As long as you have a clear shot, I guess go for it…"

Sesshoumaru looked at her, "What do you mean by different?"

"I… I am not quite sure…"

Sesshoumaru continued to search her orbs as if for answers, "You are undoubtedly the most cryptic being on this continent."

Kagome took a step back abruptly, and with a widening of her eyes, she lost her balance. Sesshoumaru instantly caught her, as his hand had not strayed too far from her waist.

He held her dipped slightly for a moment, wondering if she too looked familiar. If perhaps, she could conjure up some past memory of the two.

Kagome cradled his face for a moment and then brought his closer.

And then she kissed him.

-

-

(Tsuki)

-

-

"_Perhaps we are not so different after all." _

_That utterance made her smile. In a light note, she agreed. "Perhaps."_

_Her eyes stared into amber and she abruptly felt shy…yet curious. "I feel odd when I am with you. Is that in itself strange?"_

_Her question was met with a chuckle. "Saying that you feel odd, in all honesty does nothing to describe how you feel," came a drawled reply._

"_I don't feel this way when I am with my father or Inuyasha yet it's a welcomed feeling… I'm worried that that is the odd thing."_

"_You seem fascinated in finding the answers to everything."_

"_What if I am ill?"_

"_Immortals do not fall ill, I am sure."_

_She abruptly took her companion's face in her tiny hands, "Then I fear that what I am feeling is …affection."_

"_You are undoubtedly the most cryptic being that I have ever come across." His eyes locked into hers with amused curiosity. "Why pray tell, is that something to fear?"_

_She shakily brought her lips to his in the way she faintly remembered her parents to have done… softly, gently. _

_It had not been that long since they had established a 'friendship,' but at this point she was certain…_

_When she pulled away, she laughed nervously, "It is something to fear…because I love you, Sesshoumaru."_

-

-

(Tsuki)

-

-

"That was unexpected, huh?" Inuyasha was flipping through the digital pictures that Kyoshi had taken. He raised his brows as the cameraman paused on the final photo he had taken. "I can probably keep my job, though. This is perfect."

Kyoshi scratched the back of his head, "Shouldn't you check on your brother though?"

Inuyasha snorted, "Sess? He's a trooper—he's fine."

"He passed out, Inuyasha."

"…"

After a moment, there was a sigh. "Fine! I'll be back in a second. Run that photo over to Jakotsu with some snide sounding message. Make it sound like what I'd say."

Kyoshi couldn't help but smile, "Yes, boss."

Inuyasha made his way across from out of the photo area and into the gallery. Sesshoumaru was laying, eyes closed on a bench the workers had cleared. Kagome was seated at the foot of the bench staring into space leaned gently against Kikyou, who seemed at a loss for what to do.

The brown eyed girl was simply stroking the girl's hair when he found them, but a part of Inuyasha knew that that was enough of a comfort for Kagome.

So he focused his attention to his older brother.

He gently shook him, "Hey, Sesshoumaru."

At the sound of his name, said person's eyes shot open and he bolted up. Inuyasha drew closer with concern, "Oi, don't sit up so fast!"

And then Sesshoumaru did something more out of character than his fainting. He bared his teeth and snarled.

But what had Inuyasha and Kikyou taken aback more than the action, though, was the fact that his canines had vastly elongated into fangs.

-

-

(Tsuki)

A.N. How's that for a little romance and mystery? Though I don't really know if that could be considered romance, but I kinda confirmed the biggest duh of this story (that he's this mysterious demon love of Kag's.)

Hope it was enjoyable! Review!


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